Imposter Phenomenon
First coined in 1978 by Georgia State University professors Paulin Calnce and psychologist Suzanne Imes, it describe the studying of high achieve woman which unable to internalized and accept their achievements. Instead, in spite of consistent objective data to the contrary, they attributed their success to serendipity, luck, contacts, timing perseverance, charm or even the ability to appear more capable than they felt themselves to be.
Men can also exhibit it. Insecure overachiever.
Neurotic Imposters do not realize that they may be pushing themselves and others too hard, often to the detriment of long term success. By exploiting themselves so brutally in this way, hey risk rapid and early burnout.
The vicious cycle begins when the imposter set impossible goals. She fails to reach the goals, of course, (because no one could reach them), then herself endlessly about the failure, which incites further self-flagellation, accentuates the feelings of imposture, and inspires her to designate yet another unattainable set of goals.-and the entire cycle of workholism and fraudulence begin again.
Because they are so ambivalent about their achievements, neurotic imposters often appear to be engagingly humble, Self-depreciation, of course, is a perfectly respectable character trait and, from a career management point of view, can be seen as a protective strategy. Underplaying one’s achievements defuses other people’s envy and directs attention away from success, thereby lower other’s expectations- a useful maneuver in case of future failure. A display of self-depreciation also seems to convey a sense of modesty, which can elicit encouragement and support from others.
For many neurotic imposters, the heart of the problem is the fear that success and fame will hurt them in some way-which family, friends, and other continue to like them much better if they remain “small”.
Success is the one unpardonable sin against one’s follow.
The light at the end of tunnel
If caregivers identify and deal with factors that lead destruction of neurotic imposters in very early lif, the dysfunction effect will never surface. Parental awareness of downside of setting excessively high standards of children goes a long way toward preventing later misery.
Extreme strength can easily become a weakness. Acknowledging that making mistakes is part of a successful corporate culture. The wise organization does not punish “ smart” mistake; to “fail forward” should be part of an organization’s implicit culture value. Mistakes can offer great opportunities for learning and personal growth, and leaders need to help neurotic imposters understand that a fear of failure is normal and need not be debilitating.
It’s often said that a person’s strengths are also his weakness. The same is true for organization.
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