Feeling like an imposter can lead to chronic stress, which has negative health outcomes. The sense of not belonging is especially stressful and can be related to imposter syndrome. Representation and examples of belonging are important. Ways to combat imposter syndrome include documenting failures to realize they are not personal faults and reflecting on one's strengths regularly.
Does anyone really know what they’re doing? How do we reward the competent and not the confident? And what’s wrong with using TikTok for research?
RESOURCES:
- "Why Everyone Feels Like They’re Faking It," by Leslie Jamison (The New Yorker, 2023).
- "The Impostor Phenomenon Revisited: Examining the Relationship between Workplace Impostor Thoughts and Interpersonal Effectiveness at Work," by Basima Tewfik (Academy of Management Journal, 2022).
- "You’re Not an Imposter. You’re Actually Pretty Amazing," by Kess Eruteya (Harvard Business Review, 2022).
- "Workplace ‘Impostor Thoughts’ May Have a Genuine Upside," by Meredith Somers (Ideas Made to Matter, 2022).
- The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, by Michelle Obama (2022).
- "Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome: a Systematic Review," by Dena M. Bravata, Sharon A. Watts, Autumn L. Keefer, Divya K. Madhusudhan, Katie T. Taylor, Dani M. Clark, Ross S. Nelson, Kevin O. Cokley, and Heather K. Hagg (Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2020).
- "What Is Imposter Syndrome and How Can You Combat It?" by Elizabeth Cox (TED-Ed, 2018).
- "Is Resilience Only Skin Deep?: Rural African Americans' Socioeconomic Status-Related Risk and Competence in Preadolescence and Psychological Adjustment and Allostatic Load at Age 19," by Gene H. Brody, Tianyi Yu, Edith Chen, Gregory Miller, Steven M. Kogan, and Steven R. H. Beach (Psychological Science, 2013).
- “Emotion Generation and Emotion Regulation: One or Two Depends on Your Point of View,” by James Gross and Lisa Feldman Barrett (Emotion Review, 2011).
- "Good C.E.O.’s Are Insecure (and Know It)," by Adam Bryant (The New York Times, 2010).
- Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, by Howard Schultz (1997).
EXTRAS:
SOURCES:
- Edith Chen, professor of psychology at Northwestern University.
- Pauline Rose Clance, professor emerita of psychology at Georgia State University.
- Kess Eruteya, founder of InclusionZ and fellow at the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce.
- Obi Felten, founder and C.E.O. of Flourish Labs.
- Suzanne Ament Imes, clinical psychologist and academic researcher at Georgia State University.
- Erika James, dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
- Steven Levitt, professor of economics at the University of Chicago, host of People I (Mostly) Admire, and co-author of the Freakonomics books.
- Gregory Miller, professor of psychology at Northwestern University.
- Michelle Obama, attorney, author, and former first lady of the United States.
- Howard Schultz, former C.E.O. and chairman emeritus of Starbucks.
- Basima Tewfik, professor of work and organization studies at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management.
- Eric Weiner, professor of educational foundations at Montclair State University.
