OutsmartingImpostor

Syndrome

Robbin Chapman, PhDAssociate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingHarvard Kennedy School

@DrRNChapman

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingWelcome & Learning Objectives

• Understand Impostor Syndrome origins

• Notice Impostor Syndrome symptoms and triggers

• Impostor Syndrome toolkit

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingMaya AngelouPoet, Memoirist, Author, Civil Rights Activist

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingMaya AngelouPoet, Memoirist, Author, Civil Rights Activist

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingRobbin Chapman Academic Strategist, Educator, MIT EECS PhD

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

“I still sometimes feel like an impostor”

“I hate to let go of my work until it’s perfect”

“When the project is finished, it’s a relief that

things haven’t gone wrong”

Robbin Chapman Academic Strategist, Educator, MIT EECS PhD

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingGot Impostor?

• I don’t deserve success

• I’m a fraud and others will find out

• I’m just lucky

• I’m fooling everyone

• I feel relief when successful, not confident or joyful

• I don’t belong here

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Impostor Syndrome:Under the hood

Unable to internalize accomplishments

Convinced of not deserving success

Success dismissed as luck, timing, or ability to deceive

Contradictory evidence may not stop

impostor feelings or thoughts

Social marginalization can compound

and intensify this feeling

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Impostor SyndromeUnder the hood

• Perfectionism – I have to always be right, or perfect

• All or nothing thinking – I did great or I failed

• Catastrophizing – My paper is the worst

• Must language – I must publish this paper today or I’m a failure

• Disqualifying the positive – Not taking compliments

• Magnification & filtering – Only seeing the bad and blowing it out of

proportion

• Labeling – “I’m a disaster” rather than, “I didn’t do well on this one

assignment for this reason”

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Impostor Syndrome Triggers

• Competitive environments

• Stereotype threat

• Discrimination

• Socialization

• Internalized thoughts/ feelings

• Exclusive practices and

policies

• Systems of oppression

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOur goal: Recalibration

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Outsmarting Impostor Syndrome:Quick Tips

• Name it and say it out loud

• Test your reality

• Use a growth mindset

• Normalize self-doubt

• Forgive mistakes

• Practice resilience after failure

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Outsmarting Impostor SyndromeSelf-Authorship

Write!

Separate feelings from fact

Communicate expectations

and hopes

Visualize success

Talk

Accept positive affirmations

Try new response to failure

and mistake making

“Get back in there!”

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Outsmarting Impostor Syndrome:Check in with yourself

• Practice mindfulness

• Notice if there is more here to do than anyone can do.

• Set reasonable expectations for how to meet the priorities. Write it down! Cross out unreasonable ones.

• Notice what you will not prioritize. Those items will have less solid outcomes.

• Revisit and reassess when necessary.

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Outsmarting Impostor Syndrome:Resources outside yourself

• Seek therapy/counseling

• Seek an affirming community

• Engage in physical activity

• Enjoy family and/or friends

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Outsmarting Impostor Syndrome:Adjust your perspective

“There’s no need to afflict

yourself with impostor

syndrome, when all you

want is a healthy dose of

self-doubt.”

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOutsmarting Impostor Syndrome:Fuel Instead of Freeze

Use insecurities or fears to drive you into a learning/growth mindset

Which successes are you not taking ownership of?

Which beliefs about success are holding you back?

Which strengths are you overlooking?

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingMeasuring Impostor Syndrome

Clance & Imes (1978) Impostor Phenomenon Scale contains items that identify:• Fear of failure

• Attribution of success to luck, error, or charm

• The desire to stand out

• The feeling of having given others a false impression

Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The impostor phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241.

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Self-Assessment Tool

Outsmarting Impostor Syndrome:Your toolkit

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Worst-Case Scenario Actual Outcome

Outsmarting Impostor Syndrome:Your toolkit

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Take the Implicit Association Test:

• Measures strength of associations

• Nuances understanding of attitudes

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

Outsmarting Impostor Syndrome:Your toolkit

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Increase self-awareness and resilience

Notice context of yourthoughts and actions

Perspective “in the moment”

Making exclusions of Success more visible

Flexibility

Focus

Awareness

Practice Mindfulness

Outsmarting Impostor Syndrome:Your toolkit

RememberWhat Is TrueAbout You!

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingOffice of Diversity, Inclusion, and BelongingReferencesBaxter Magolda, M. (2001). Making their own way: Narratives for transforming higher education

to promote self-development. Sterling, VA: StylusBaxter Magolda, M. (2008). Three elements of self-authorship. Journal of College Student

Development, 49, 269-284Brookfield, S. D. (2005), Overcoming impostorship, cultural suicide, and lost innocence:

Implications for teaching critical thinking in the community college. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2005: 49–57.

Clance, P.R., (1985) The Impostor Phenomenon: When success makes you feel like a fake. Toronto: Bantam Books.

Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The impostor phenomenon in high-achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 15, 241-247.

Clance, P.R. & O'Toole, M.A. (1987). impostor phenomenon: An internal barrier to empowerment and Achievement. Women and Therapy, 6, 51-64.

King, J. E., & Cooley, E. L. (1995). Achievement orientation and the impostor phenomenon among college students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 20, 304-312.

Kolligan, J. Jr. (1991). Perceived fraudulence in young adults: Is there an "impostor syndrome"? Journal of Personality Assessment, 56, 308-326.

Maton, K.I., Hrabowski, F.A. III, & Schmitt, C.L. (2000). African-American college students excelling in the sciences: College and post-college outcomes in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37, 629-654

Shetty, Chunoo, & Cox (2016). Self-Authorship in student affairs: a developmental paradox. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 53(2), 131-145.

Clance Impostor Syndrome Self-Assessment Tool

Adapted from The Impostor Phenomenon: When Success Makes You Feel Like a Fake (pp.20-22), by P.R.Clance, 1985. Toronto: Bantam Books. Copyright 1985 by Pauline Rose Clance, Ph.D., ABPP. Reprinted by permission. Do not reproduce without permission from Pauline Rose Clance. drpaulinerose@comcast.net. www.paulineroseclance.com

Instructions: For each statement, please put the number in the box that best indicates how true the statement is of you. It is best to give the first response that enters your mind rather than dwelling on each statement and thinking about it over and over.

S T A T E M E N T 1

Not at all true

2 Rarely

true

3 Sometimes

true

4 Often true

5 Very true

1. I have often succeeded on a test or task even though I was afraid that I would not do well before I undertook the task.

2. When people praise me for something I’ve accomplished, I’m afraid I won’t be able to live up to their expectations of me in the future.

3. I sometimes think I obtained my present position or gained my present success because I happened to be in the right place at the right time or knew the right people.

4. I’m afraid people important to me may find out that I’m not as capable as they think I am.

5. I tend to remember the incidents in which I have not done my best more than those times I have done my best.

6. It’s hard for me to accept compliments or praise about my intelligence or accomplishments.

7. At times, I feel my success has been due to some kind of luck.

8. I’m disappointed at times in my present accomplishments and think I should have accomplished much more.

9. Sometimes I’m afraid others will discover how much knowledge or ability I really lack.

10. I often compare my ability to those around me and think they may be more intelligent than I am.

Clance Impostor Syndrome Self-Assessment Tool

The Impostor Syndrome Self-Assessment was developed to help individuals determine whether or not they have IS characteristics and, if so, to what extent they are suffering. Scoring: Add together the numbers of the responses to each statement for a cumulative total.

If the total score is 20 or less You have few Impostor characteristics

If the total score is 21-30 You have moderate Impostor Syndrome experiences

If the total score is 31-40 You frequently have Impostor Syndrome experiences

If the total score is over 40 You often have intense Impostor Syndrome experiences

The higher the score, the more frequently and seriously the Impostor Syndrome may be interfering in a person’s life. Adapted from The Impostor Phenomenon: When Success Makes You Feel Like a Fake (pp.20-22), by P.R.Clance, 1985. Toronto: Bantam Books. Copyright 1985 by Pauline Rose Clance, Ph.D., ABPP. Reprinted by permission. Do not reproduce without permission from Pauline Rose Clance. drpaulinerose@comcast.net. www.paulineroseclance.com