Do you often rub shoulders with respected peers or share a boardroom with star performers and think, ‘I don't belong here’ or ‘I don't deserve this’? How frequently do you experience self-doubt and feel like others overestimate your professional competence?

You’d be surprised by how many high-performing, educated, accomplished people secretly harbour workplace impostor thoughts (popularly known as impostor syndrome).

Psychology Today says that between 25% and 30% of high achievers are bogged down by impostor syndrome, and nearly 70% of adults have entertained impostor thoughts at least once in their careers. In a recent literature review encompassing more than 14 000 participants, 82% of them suffered from impostor syndrome.

Impostor syndrome doesn’t mean someone isn’t good enough for the job. It means they don't believe they are. Most of us must sometimes fake it 'till we make it, but people who are dragged down by impostor thoughts never seem to shake them off.

They also think others have an exaggerated view of their abilities and fear they will be exposed as a fraud. They have a continuous tendency to downplay their achievements, no matter the scenario.

What employers must know about impostor syndrome among employees

Against this backdrop, it’s hardly surprising that this chronic self-doubt is associated with various adverse outcomes. We know it’s linked to decreased self-esteem, reduced psychological wellbeing and increased negative behaviours like self-handicapping and self-denigration.

Leaders should note that workplace impostor thoughts are a driving factor in top-performing employees’ decisions to resign. A small but focused body of organisational research paints a rather bleak picture, outlining decreased job satisfaction and higher levels of burnout compared to their fake-it-till-you-make-it counterparts.

The phenomenon was first documented in the ’70s among high-achieving women, but we’ve since learnt that gender isn’t an indication. Some reviews hinted that the occurrence seemed more prevalent among women of colour, but recent studies by Basima Tewfik, Professor of Work and Organisation Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management, have refuted the assumption.

Her mainstream research examines the psychology of the social self at work, particularly workplace impostor thoughts. Tewfik reported that none of her investigations had distinguished one group above another.

She says it best: ‘In all my studies – and this has been backed up by other researchers – I don’t find significant differences. That is, white men seem to experience just as many impostor thoughts as women and people of colour do.’

So, if neither race nor gender is a driving factor of impostor syndrome, what is?

Why some people suffer from self-doubt in the workplace and not others

There’s no single answer to explain why people are burdened by impostor thoughts. Nor is impostor syndrome an official psychiatric condition detectable by a direct diagnostic tool. But it doesn’t make it any less palpable to sufferers who often struggle with associated mental-health conditions like depression.

The impostor mindset seems to be caused by a combination of factors, including childhood experiences, societal expectations and socio-cultural aspects. One fundamental link to impostor syndrome is perfectionism, which is connected to one’s inherited propensity for anxiety.

But, against all odds, Tewfik offers a silver lining. Interestingly, to date, there’s no quantitative empirical evidence that impostor thoughts degrade work performance, especially in a team setup.

Employees harbouring them often excel at teamwork, cooperation and socialising, she says. They compensate for their perceived sense of inadequateness by becoming more other-oriented. In the process, peers and leaders rank them high in interpersonal effectiveness.

Tewfik underlines that sufferers can keep this positive finding in the back of their minds while addressing their unnecessary feelings of unworthiness.

3 things you can do to manage self-doubt and impostor syndrome

• List and acknowledge your accomplishments and compliments. Take enough time to delve into your successes and write down each step you took to achieve them. The cognitive process associated with writing makes your proficiencies concrete and helps your brain to see the evidence more objectively.

• Remember that it's okay not to know everything and to ask for help or advice. It doesn't make you a failure. Ironically, asking questions, being curious and showing interest make you personable, which is linked to social acceptance. Social acceptance is associated with a sense of belonging, which can be a powerful antidote to impostor thoughts.

• Feel the fear and do it anyway. If you do what you've always done, you'll stay where you've always been. Taking action can be a powerful way to prove your inner critic wrong.

Don’t be scared to reach out for professional assistance if impostor thoughts are debilitating you. There is help and there is hope. Tewfik says that data suggests workplace impostor thoughts are not permanent and that people can shed the mindset with help.

If there’s one point to ponder, it's the paradox of impostor syndrome: those who suffer from it are typically high achieving by all objective measures.

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