The hidden benefits of imposter syndrome

What do Tom Hanks, Kate Winslet, and Meryl Streep have in common?

For one, they’re all Academy Award-winning performers – 34 Oscars between the three of them.

Yet, despite being celebrated and recognized by critics, peers, and fans as some of the most captivating actors and actresses, they still have doubts about their ability to deliver a good scene and are worried about being a fraud.

These sentiments of ‘feeling like a phony’ and ‘fear of being found out’ are popularly termed imposter syndrome. With some research demonstrating its negative impact in the workplace, such as reduced job satisfaction and increased burnout, it is unsurprising to see recommendations in Harvard Business Review and The New York Times to end imposter syndrome.

But could there be hidden benefits to imposter syndrome? Why would we expect to find any upsides given that existing research points near uniformly to their detrimental effects?

Assistant Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, Basima Tewfik, highlights that previous research has incorrectly conflated the phenomenon of imposter syndrome with its negative emotional consequences. The subsequent popularization of the concept resulted in a reputation and understanding that outgrew the term’s scientific foundations.

Instead, Tewfik argues that fundamentally, workplace imposter thoughts stem from the belief that others overestimate our ability at work relative to what we believe is our own ability. Viewing imposter syndrome through this lens not only re-aligns the concept with its original, scientific roots, but it also opens the door to exploring other positive effects.

Tewfik’s research was recently published in the Academy of Management Journal. Across four studies conducted with investment advisory firm employees and physicians-in-training, as well as in experimental settings, she found that individuals who have more workplace imposter thoughts were seen by others as more interpersonally effective – that is, they cooperated, interacted, and worked well with others. This is because such thoughts encouraged those who had them to focus their attention on their relationship with others rather than on themselves.

Importantly, despite this focus on others, Tewfik found that workplace imposter thoughts did not impact individuals’ subjective or objective job performance. As work becomes more socially collaborative and interdependent, such relational capital is a critical engine for organizational success.

Here are some considerations –

Reframe your imposter thoughts.

Recognize that such thoughts of being an imposter are a healthy sign that one is confident in their own skin and abilities yet is mindful of where others can do things better than they can. Successful, fallible leaders, who we admire and willingly follow, openly embrace these thoughts.

In the absence of these thoughts, you will find two scenarios, both of which are indicative of ineffective leadership – 1) narcissism, which reflects a disastrous cocktail of entitlement, attention-seeking behaviours, inflated self-views, and a lack of empathy towards others, and 2) unfounded overconfidence, where the unskilled are also unaware and tend to overestimate their abilities on a task they actually know very little about.

Get along to get ahead.

In 1945, a cornerstone of leadership theory emerged from the Ohio State Leadership Studies, which found that leaders engaged in two notable leadership styles to facilitate goal attainment – 1) task-oriented, such as defining and organizing roles and responsibilities, and 2) relationship-oriented, such as tending to the wellbeing of team members.

Sixty years later, a meta-analysis – ‘a study of studies’ where the results from multiple research papers are aggregated – found that relationship-oriented leaders garnered greater follower satisfaction with the leader and job, and were more effective. Yet another example that good leaders put their people first.

The bottom line

Instead of ending them, lean into those healthy thoughts of being an imposter.