5 Types of Impostor Syndrome and How to Tame Them
I have written 11 books but each time I think ‘Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’ — Maya Angelou
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If you’ve been reading my articles for a while, then you probably know that I am not one to shy away from difficult topics. From loss, to growth, to mental health, sharing my experiences authentically is at the core of why I began writing in the first place. That’s why I want to start this post by admitting that this article was a bit difficult for me to write. Why? Well, because I haven’t fully figured out how to combat and manage impostor syndrome myself. It still creeps up on me from time to time and ironically, as I write this, I’m thinking, “I’m fooling everyone.”
Some of you are probably wondering what impostor syndrome, less commonly known as perceived fraudulence, is. Psychologists define impostor syndrome as the internal experience of self-doubt that lets you believe you are not as competent as others perceive you to be.
Who exactly does it affect? Well, a whole lot of people. Turns out, 70% of the population feel like a fraud at least once in their lifetime regardless of race, sex, age, job, or social status. This psychological phenomena has many shapes and forms: from feeling like you are “lucky” and that your merits have nothing to do with your successes to feeling like everyone around you is much smarter than you and that you don’t belong. If not identified and properly managed, your impostor, whatever it feels like, can be chronically crippling, will rob you of your confidence, and will cause you to become your worst critique.
I’ve consciously experienced impostor syndrome since I was 12 years old but only started working on taming my impostors about 5 years ago. I use the word tame because I now believe, from personal experience and from research that impostor syndrome never really goes away. Understanding and accepting that fact has played a big role in my growth and how I’ve approached and managed the feelings of incompetence associated with impostor syndrome.
Thanks to leading researcher Dr. Valerie Young, we now know that there are 5 types of impostors, each with a different focus but the same agenda. We don’t all experience impostor syndrome the same way which is where the five types come in. It largely has to do with how we define competence as people or in different contexts. I want to use my platform this month to write about the five types, the way I’ve previously experienced them, and what I’m doing to tame them. As always, I hope the insights I provide in the next paragraphs will be helpful.
1. The Natural Genius
When I was younger, I went through school with little to no effort. I was what most people called naturally smart and unfortunately, hearing this message over and over again from parents, teachers, and other authority figures reinforced the belief that I am competent and good enough only when I can accomplish new tasks at lightning speed and with ease. Naturally, when I tried something new and didn’t master it right away, my immediate thought was that I was really a fake genius about to be exposed.
I am older now and I know that hard work is more important than intelligence. In fact, there are a lot of things I don’t get right the first time around but I don’t really expect to. Instead, I expect to gradually learn and put in the work to master a skill, a subject, or a challenge. If you’re the type of person who beats themselves up for not being able to master a task from the get-go, then your imposter is called the natural genius and if not tamed, will hinder you from getting out of your comfort zone, taking stretch assignments, and trying out new things.
How to tame it:
- When faced with a task that you find utterly challenging and you’re struggling at more than you believe you should, focus on working hard and learning. Break down the task into small chunks of work and measure your progress over-time to see how hard you’ve worked and how far you’ve come. Small incremental steps lead to mastery.
- When people compliment your work by saying things like, “Well done on that project, you made it look so easy”, respond with, “Thank you, I put in a lot of work to deliver those results.” Change the narrative from effortless achievements to hard earned work. Remind them and yourself that the kind of results you deliver don’t just show up out of the blue. They are a direct result of your commitment and perseverance to learning and getting the job done. Regardless of what Beyoncé said, no one “woke up like this”.
2. The Perfectionist
When I entered the working world, I developed this ridiculous behaviour of re-reading my emails a million times before sending them out. I would scrutinise every word in an attempt to make the messaging flawless. I did the same with other deliverables and tasks on my to-do list and the truth of the matter is that my desire for perfection was really a waste of time and it was exhausting. Even though I knew that, I still somehow believed that a minor flaw in my work meant I was incompetent and that I didn’t really know what I was doing.
If you’re obsessed with unachievable benchmarks and believe that anything but is a sign that you’re not good enough then your impostor is called the perfectionist. If left untamed, you will become very good at procrastination and will never get anything done.
How to tame it:
- Perfect does not exist. Instead of thinking about how perfect your deliverables are, think of whether they fulfil the objectives they were supposed to. For example, nowadays, when someone sends me an email asking for critical information, I focus on whether my response answers their questions in a clear, direct, and concise manner. If the answer is yes, I press send and move on.
- Don’t wait for tomorrow to do the things you can do today. Set clear priorities at the beginning of your day in descending order then make sure you get those done. Good results daily are greater than perfect results never.
3. The Soloist
I am an introvert who learnt to become independent at a very young age. So, my social skills are questionable at best but that’s a topic for another day :D. I first went to boarding school at the age of 11 and moved across the world alone at 16 and even though both of those were my decision, becoming independent and self-reliant didn’t feel like a choice. I became really good at delivering excellent results alone. Things were well done if they were only done by me and getting help meant I was failing and incompetent.
As I learnt very fast, life doesn’t work that way. Everyone needs helps at one point or another. In fact, helping and getting help from those around me became a big part of what makes my life beautiful. I love knowing that there are people out there who know they can rely on me and vice versa.
If you believe that needing help is a sign of incompetence and are ashamed when someone comes to your aid then your impostor is called the soloist. This impostor will isolate you and hinder you from learning from others and forming meaningful relationships.
How to tame it:
- When someone you trust offers to help you, even when you believe you don’t need it but do, say, “Thank you, I appreciate it” and stop there. You may learn something new from the way they do things that you would have otherwise missed.
- When someone offers to help you, don’t immediately assume that they think you’re incompetent and want to jump in and save the day. Unless otherwise proven, always assume good intentions.
4. The Superhero
This was one I hadn’t come across until very recently. When I started my part-time MBA, I knew I was taking on an additional role of a student on top of the many other roles I already held. I even went as far as to expect that I can juggle and excel in all of my roles, as an employee, as a mentor, as a friend, as a daughter etc., without any struggle. Of course, I did not, and of course it made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. I was struggling to keep up with all the different aspects of my life and adjusting to studying as an adult was a bit tough. It took a good six months until I was able to handle and juggle multiple priorities. Meanwhile, as I was figuring it all out, everyone around me seemed to have their lives in order, so obviously, I must not be very competent.
The expectation that you should be able to handle it all easily is what the superhero impostor is all about. This impostor will exhaust you and lead you to burnout by getting you to spend a lot of energy in every single area of your life, trying to be the best everything to everyone.
How to tame it:
- Prioritise, prioritise, and prioritise. Your roles are your roles for a reason but no one can have it all at the same time. If you’re beating yourself up for feeling like you’ve dropped the ball on one of your roles, take a step back, look at all of your roles holistically, and pick 2 or 3 that are non-negotiable. Focus on those and proactively let everyone else know that you’re taking a back seat for a while. Maybe someone else can fill in for you? For example, if you are used to hosting get togethers with your friends that are a lot of work on your part, you can proactively ask another friend to play host until further notice. That doesn’t make you an incompetent and terrible friend, it makes you a human being with 24hrs a day and competing priorities.
5. The Expert
When I was starting to master my job, I enjoyed being the expert until something unthinkable happened. Someone asked me a question that I didn’t know the answer to. Immediately, I questioned and underrated my expertise and wondered how long it would take others to figure out that I really wasn’t an expert. Not knowing everything I could about the topic at hand felt like I had failed.
Truth is, I hadn’t failed but was facing the expert impostor, the one who believes that you should have all the answers. Untamed, the expert will hold you prisoner in a never ending cycle of over-preparation.
In reality, no one has all the answers and not being able to answer a question doesn’t take away your accomplishments. Taming the expert will likely make you a better collaborator as it will remind you that you really don’t need to know it all and instead of spending time proving that you do, maybe you should focus on working with others to achieve a common goal.
How to tame it:
- Admit that you don’t know all the answers and know that this doesn’t mean you’re not as competent as you thought you were. The focus should be on curiosity and learning. This is my most tamed impostor and nowadays, I say, “I don’t know”with a lot of ease.
- If someone asks you a question that you don’t really have an answer to say; “Thanks for the question. I’d like to look at the information holistically and will get back to you.” It’s that simple.
- Spend time with people like you, people who are experts in their fields too. You’ll find out that they too don’t have all the answers and that that fact doesn’t mean they’re not good at what they do.
Thank you for making it to the end of this article. The truth is that impostor syndrome is quite common and because it is, I know that there are many ways to tame the different impostors, beyond the ones I’ve listed in this article. That said, I’d love to hear from my readers how they’ve handled and tamed their impostors in the past. Please share your experience in the comments section so that I too can learn from you. Otherwise, it is my hope that I was able to provide you with practical tips that will help you along your journey. Thank you for dropping by.
Until next time, stay brave!
Imma
Imma Baradyana is an international technology professional, storyteller, and aspiring motivational speaker who writes about her personal, professional, and academic experiences. Each of her stories includes actionable advice and tips that are designed to help you along your journey.
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