Another factor is how Impostor Syndrome has suffered from definition creep (like every concept that gets popular). Brene Brown[1] defined guilt vs shame as "I did something bad" vs "I am bad", with the former being a lot healthier. I'd argue that Impostor Syndrome Classic(tm) is shame in the work context. I'm sure that it arises from a mix of factors, as this post discusses.
But I want to split out the "I did a specific thing wrong (and guilt about it)" thing, which some people can lump into into Impostor Syndrome. I think it's simply "mistakes are frustrating". But mistakes are the price that we pay for working in complex, slow-feedback, vague-goals environments. The right mindset for preventing guilt from weighing you down might be quite different than for shame. In particular, I try to take a broader prospective, both in terms of my performance across time and compared to others. Of course, if that analysis were to stop making me feel better, it might be time to question whether I am, in fact, an impostor to the role that I'd found myself in at that point.
To add my own early career anecdote: I had two internships in my college major of Mechanical Engineering. Even outside of an operational role like barista, there were clear signs I wasn’t what they expected, and my managers confirmed this at the end of the summer.
For that reason, and many others, I self-studied into an objectively successful Data Science career after graduation. Of course I’ve also had tons of luck in my 10 years, but facing facts and choosing that embarrassing reset was absolutely pivotal.
Another factor is how Impostor Syndrome has suffered from definition creep (like every concept that gets popular). Brene Brown[1] defined guilt vs shame as "I did something bad" vs "I am bad", with the former being a lot healthier. I'd argue that Impostor Syndrome Classic(tm) is shame in the work context. I'm sure that it arises from a mix of factors, as this post discusses.
But I want to split out the "I did a specific thing wrong (and guilt about it)" thing, which some people can lump into into Impostor Syndrome. I think it's simply "mistakes are frustrating". But mistakes are the price that we pay for working in complex, slow-feedback, vague-goals environments. The right mindset for preventing guilt from weighing you down might be quite different than for shame. In particular, I try to take a broader prospective, both in terms of my performance across time and compared to others. Of course, if that analysis were to stop making me feel better, it might be time to question whether I am, in fact, an impostor to the role that I'd found myself in at that point.
[1] https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/brene-brown-returns (RT =/= blanket endorsement)
To add my own early career anecdote: I had two internships in my college major of Mechanical Engineering. Even outside of an operational role like barista, there were clear signs I wasn’t what they expected, and my managers confirmed this at the end of the summer.
For that reason, and many others, I self-studied into an objectively successful Data Science career after graduation. Of course I’ve also had tons of luck in my 10 years, but facing facts and choosing that embarrassing reset was absolutely pivotal.
Some odd ideas:
1. Imposter Syndrome hurts those that are high in Neuroticism, while low in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. (low Alpha or Stability Metatrait) https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0191886900002282
2. There might be a relationship between Imposter Syndrome, Dunning-Kruger Effect, and Piety as an attractive behavior https://theredqueen.substack.com/p/dunning-kruger-power-effect
3. This social effect is tied to pedagogy, childhood problems, and "Curse of Development" https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2010/04/14/the-gervais-principle-iii-the-curse-of-development/