The label of imposter syndrome is a heavy load to bear. Rarely are we invited to a women’s career development conference where a session on “overcoming imposter syndrome” is not on the agenda. They’re able to find role models who are like them, and rarely (if ever) do others question their competence, contributions, or leadership style. As white men progress, their feelings of doubt usually abate as their work and intelligence are validated over time. Imposter syndrome took a fairly universal feeling of discomfort, second-guessing, and mild anxiety in the workplace and pathologized it, especially for women. Feeling Unsure Shouldn’t Make You an Imposter Imposter syndrome directs our view toward fixing women at work instead of fixing the places where women work. Even as we know it today, imposter syndrome puts the blame on individuals, without accounting for the historical and cultural contexts that are foundational to how it manifests in both women of color and white women. Many groups were excluded from the study, namely women of color and people of various income levels, genders, and professional backgrounds. The impact of systemic racism, classism, xenophobia, and other biases was categorically absent when the concept of imposter syndrome was developed. We think there’s room to question imposter syndrome as the reason women may be inclined to distrust their success. What’s less explored is why imposter syndrome exists in the first place and what role workplace systems play in fostering and exacerbating it in women. A Google search yields more than 5 million results and shows solutions ranging from attending conferences to reading books to reciting one’s accomplishments in front of a mirror. Even famous women - from Hollywood superstars such as Charlize Theron and Viola Davis to business leaders such as Sheryl Sandberg and even former First Lady Michelle Obama and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor - have confessed to experiencing it. They posited that “despite outstanding academic and professional accomplishments, women who experience the imposter phenomenon persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise.” Their findings spurred decades of thought leadership, programs, and initiatives to address imposter syndrome in women. Psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes developed the concept, originally termed “imposter phenomenon,” in their 1978 founding study, which focused on high-achieving women. Many question whether they’re deserving of accolades. It disproportionately affects high-achieving people, who find it difficult to accept their accomplishments. Imposter syndrome is loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud. Examining Imposter Syndrome as We Know It It was repeatedly facing systemic racism and bias. Today, when Lavarry, who has since written a book about her experience, Confessions From Your Token Black Colleague, reflects on the imposter syndrome she fell prey to during that time, she knows it wasn’t a lack of self-confidence that held her back. What had started as healthy nervousness - Will I fit in? Will my colleagues like me? Can I do good work? - became a workplace-induced trauma that had her contemplating suicide. She became plagued by deep anxiety, self-hatred, and the feeling that she was a fraud. Each action that chipped away at her role in her work doubly chipped away at her confidence. Things with her planning team became so acrimonious that Lavarry found herself demoted from lead to colead and was eventually unacknowledged altogether by her colleagues. She began doubting whether she was qualified for the job, despite constant praise from the client. She was, after all, the only Black woman on her team. Lavarry wondered whether her race had something to do with the way she was treated. Their bullying, both subtle and overt, haunted each decision she made. Lavarry’s colleagues interrogated and censured her, calling her professionalism into question. A golden opportunity to prove her expertise had turned into a living nightmare. Lavarry knew how to handle the complicated logistics required - but not the office politics. She had led the charge at her corporate-event-management company to plan a high-profile, security-intensive event, working around the clock and through weekends for months.
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