The Basis of Imposter Syndrome

The Lifestyle Tune-Up

Oxford Dictionary defines imposter syndrome as "the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills." It has been shown to primarily impact high achieving women, and about 70% of high achieving women will experience imposter syndrome over the course of their career. The added emotional toll of imposter syndrome may be contributing to your burnout.
In this episode, we will take a look at imposter syndrome and present the root cause of this unfortunate experience. We will also discuss some steps you can take to mitigate the effect imposter syndrome has on you.
Citations:
1) Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241–247. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0086006
2) Dossa F, Zeltzer D, Sutradhar R, Simpson AN, Baxter NN. Sex Differences in the Pattern of Patient Referrals to Male and Female Surgeons. JAMA Surg. 2022 Feb 1;157(2):95-103. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2021.5784. Erratum in: JAMA Surg. 2021 Dec 15;: PMID: 34757424; PMCID: PMC8581775.
3) Sarsons H. Interpreting Signals in the Labor Market: Evidence from Medical Referrals [Job Market Paper].