A self-fulfilling prophecy?

Yesterday, I went for a coffee with my good friend Lynn Wernham . Lynn and I worked together a few years ago at Capita, directors in different departments, we bonded over our strong work ethic and cheeky sense of humour.

During our catch-up this week, one of the more contentious subjects we discussed was imposter syndrome. I have never believed in its existence. I have never had it, and I believe neither has anyone else.

I explained to Lynn that I find the topic frustrating, and here's why: ?

I first came across the term imposter syndrome a few years ago. I had colleagues telling me they had it, and I always looked puzzled – I kept thinking, what does that even mean?

I mean, you're not pretending to be an astronaut… you're doing your job, and sometimes it's challenging… didn't Susan Jeffers say "feel the fear and do it anyway"? But it wasn't that simple.

So I decided to find out more.

In the early seventies, the original creators of the term (Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes) noticed female students confessing that they were sure they'd failed exams (even if they did well) or they were convinced there had been a mistake on their test scores or fooled others into thinking there were more intelligent than they actually were.?

So Clance and Imes spent five years talking to more than 150 successful women about their experiences and recorded their findings in the paper "The Imposter Phenomenon in High achieving women."

While they discovered their sample was "prone to an internal experience of intellectual phoniness", they certainly didn't medicalise this "internal experience."

In the February 2023 issue of the New Yorker, Clance expressed her frustration with how we're all banding about the term' imposter syndrome,' and I have to say I agree.

There is an important distinction:

The definition of a Phenomenon is: "an observable event" (The Columbia Encyclopedia 2008).

The definition of a syndrome is:

"any?combination?of?signs?and?symptoms?that are?indicative?of a particular?disease?or?disorder" (Collinsdictionary.com)

Language is important. The term imposter syndrome is now used in anger; there are articles, panels, LinkedIn posts, podcasts…, and even leadership events dedicating a large chunk of time to discussing it and telling us how to deal with it.?

I realised something was happening here:

Natural feelings of self-doubt were being medicalised and perpetuated as something persistent…but it was more profound than that. It was being attributed largely to the female population, and some women agreed with it because they now had a name for this 'ailment'; and I started to think:

Is this just another way to hold women back? Is this one of the reasons why representation is still disproportionate in the C-Suite?

Are we perpetuating existing stereotypes by having our own #metoo moment about this 'syndrome?'

If we teach our emerging leaders about this 'real' syndrome. Are we simply letting them know that they are disadvantaged from the start? That this problem of the mind exists, and mainly in women?

The answer is probably yes.

What if we stopped making it a subject, a topic, a course, a podcast, or an article and just started normalising those fears and doubts we all occasionally have?

After my rant with Lynn, we had another reason to laugh; we came across a giant bench on our way back to the car park….

I stifled a laugh and said, oh look, it's Hagrid's chair! Then I blinked, and Lynn jumped onto it.

Lynn didn't feel it was too big for her; she decided she wanted to fill it, so she did a star jump on it (while I racked my brains trying to remember a first aid course I did 15 years ago, just in case).?

And when she climbed down, she said, "There are times when people will feel like the chair they're in is too big." That's normal; and those feelings can happen to anyone, not just women. And she's right.

So have we felt moments of self-doubt? Yes.

Have I wondered what on earth I'm doing in the boardroom? Fleetingly…

but I'm not ill. I'm just human.

So it's time to put this 'syndrome' where it belongs… locked up and out of the way of our rising stars of the future…

And like Lynn, own that chair…you didn't get there by magic…

If you want to hear a rousing speech on the subject, check out Reshma Saujani giving an address to graduates at Smith College (class of 2023). It is truly inspirational. ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euOZLfXlCy4 ?