This is an exclusive excerpt from the book, Own Your Greatness: How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome, Beat Self-Doubt, and Succeed in Life written by Psychologist and Career & Executive Coach, Lisa Orbé-Austin, PhD, and Richard Orbé Austin, PhD.

Watch Lisa's workshop on Create & Cultivate IGTV to learn more and discover the steps to overcoming imposter syndrome.

AN OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF IMPOSTOR SYNDROME

In the 1970s, two psychologists, Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes, were working in the college counseling center at Georgia State University when they first observed this phenomenon in the women that they were treating. Drs. Clance and Imes noticed that they were working with very outwardly accomplished women, both students, and faculty, who felt that they had acquired these credentials and opportunities in a fraudulent manner and that at any moment they could be found out. They wrote a paper in 1978,[1] coining the term “impostor phenomenon.” The paper outlined the characteristics of this syndrome, presented their first observations on the interventions that worked best to eradicate it and listed the factors contributing to its development.

Impostor syndrome is the experience of constantly feeling like a fraud, downplaying one’s accomplishments, and always being concerned about being exposed as incompetent or incapable. As a result, people with impostor syndrome engage in either overworking or self-sabotage. Impostor syndrome affects high-achieving professionals who are seemingly successful. However, when experiencing impostor syndrome, you are unable to enjoy your success and believe that this success is precarious. Research indicates that 70 percent of all people have experienced the Impostor Phenomenon at some point in their lives.[2] Impostor syndrome is not a diagnostic classification but rather a group of thoughts, behaviors, and feelings that cluster together to create this syndrome and have a significant impact on your emotional functioning. This syndrome can feed feelings of anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, and frustration due to the thoughts and behaviors that result.[3]

Signs of Impostor Syndrome

Here are the signs that you may be struggling with impostor syndrome.

You are high achieving.

You engage in The Impostor Cycle (see page 2).

You desire to be “special” or “the best.”

You deny ability and attribute success to luck, mistake, overwork, or a result of a relationship.

You discount praise, feeling fear, and guilt about success.

You fear failure and being discovered as a fraud.

You do not feel intelligent.

You have anxiety, self-esteem issues, depression, and frustration from internal standards.

You struggle with perfectionism.

You overestimate others and underestimate oneself.

You do not experience an internal feeling of success.

You overwork or self-sabotage to cover the feelings of inadequacy.

Initially, Clance and Imes thought that the impostor phenomenon would be found predominantly in women because of societal stereotyping that leads women to feel that they are less competent in certain domains (e.g., math, science, leadership). However, the research has been inconsistent and often finds that it is represented equally in men and women, although the findings suggest that women and men with impostor syndrome may behave differently in response to it.[4] It seems that men may be more prone to avoid situations where they might be exposed as a fraud and tend to compare themselves to peers with fewer qualifications. This allows them a protective mechanism that buoys their self-esteem, although it also leaves them underachieving.[5] Women with impostor syndrome, on the other hand, choose to remain in situations where they are constantly plagued by the fraudulent feelings.[6] We will explore these differences further in Gender Differences on page 6.

Impact on Education and Career

Clance and Imes noted that there were four particular hallmarks of impostor syndrome in the women they studied: 1) diligence and hard work; 2) intellectual inauthenticity; 3) charm and perceptiveness; 4) seeking mentorship for the purpose of external validation.

1. Diligence and Hard Work

In their seminal paper, Clance and Imes found that the women that they had observed used hard work and diligence as a cover-up for their perceived inadequacy. The women would engage in a cycle that looked like:

The Impostor Cycle

Receiving the praise would result in temporarily feeling good and at that point, once the good feelings subsided, they returned again to worrying about intelligence or ability to perform. Within this cycle, there is no internalization of the successful experience. The accomplishment isn’t accepted as part of their identity or attributed much value, so the next time they perform, it’s as if the previous accomplishments never existed. Thus, the cycle begins again. In more recent research, it has been revealed that people do not only engage in hard work in that second stage but can go in the opposite direction with self-sabotage. This is most commonly seen when someone with impostor syndrome procrastinates, usually due to anxiety about performance and perfectionism, as they attempt to unveil themselves as an impostor.[7] The belief is that the procrastination serves as a method to expose their status as an impostor, perhaps in hopes of releasing the stress and strain of it. However, they usually still perform well. But any mistake is interpreted as proof of their inadequacy due to their perfectionism, rather than as an artifact of being human, or of not giving themselves enough time to review the work.

The experience of self-sabotage can sometimes be hard to detect as it’s often connected to the performance anxiety, and this anxiety makes it difficult to tease out what has occurred. It can be seen in spontaneous and impulsive decisions to go against a plan, trouble organizing for high-stress events, or other subtle behaviors that affect preparedness, confidence, and performance.

In this example of Brenda, a school teacher, you will see how tiny choices influenced by anxiety serve to reinforce the performance issues and the impostor experiences:

Brenda is a fourth-grade math teacher who sought counseling due to her unhappiness with her current job of five years. She wants to explore other job options. In fact, she dreads going to work every day.

During our first session, Brenda was very tearful about her dissatisfaction but believed that she did not have many options. Although she has received countless positive performance reviews, Brenda did not regard herself as a good teacher. Rather, she thought that because she was so good-natured, people really liked her and gave her positive scores on her performance reviews.

As our work progressed, we were able to identify Brenda’s impostor syndrome and her self-sabotage tendencies that result from it. For instance, on the day of her teacher observation, Brenda covered a different lesson, one that should have been taught in three weeks, rather than the one she had prepared for the observation. As might be expected, the students were a bit lost and were not able to keep up. Brenda was certain that her observation went poorly and she would finally be revealed as an unskilled and incompetent teacher. However, the teacher who conducted her observation was highly impressed with Brenda’s poise and her ability to engage her students despite the material being a bit advanced. She gave Brenda a positive review.

In another instance, Brenda had to call in sick on the day of her interview for another role. The school where she was to interview, however, wanted to meet her so badly that they immediately rescheduled her interview based on her availability. Brenda went on the interview and was offered the role. Unfortunately, she turned it down, because she did not yet feel ready to leave.

2. Intellectual Inauthenticity

The second characteristic of impostor syndrome that Clance and Imes illustrated is intellectual inauthenticity, or the downplaying of knowledge, skills, or abilities, or not revealing true opinions of a situation in order to protect someone else’s feelings or preserve the relationship. When someone with impostor syndrome behaves like this, it only furthers their belief that they have engaged in some form of deception, exacerbating the feelings of being fraudulent. The kind of relationships that this intellectual inauthenticity might preserve are those with people who demonstrate narcissistic characteristics (e.g., needing excessive praise and not being able to tolerate critique or dissent) and/or have a fragile sense of themselves and their accomplishments. These can be dangerous people for those with impostor syndrome to connect with. You can see this as illustrated in Elise’s ongoing experience at the company where she has been a longtime employee:

Elise has been an office administrator at the same institution for 25 years. She has watched leaders come and go and has a significant level of understanding of the company’s history as well as an unusual expertise in the subject matter, for her position, because she has been so intimately involved in the company’s evolution. Every time another CEO is hired—and there have been many—she struggles to share her content and cultural knowledge because she senses their fragility and notices their desire to be the most knowledgeable person in the room, even though they are brand-new. In each experience with a new CEO, she becomes terrified that she will be fired because she will be seen as incompetent and outdated in her knowledge and skills.

3. Charm and Perceptiveness

Intellectual inauthenticity is often combined with a third behavior, which is utilizing charm and perceptiveness. In their ability to get people to like them and potentially advocate for them, those with impostor syndrome can feel like their ability to fool people extends beyond their intellectual capacity.

People with impostor syndrome can also exhibit high emotional intelligence. They are particularly keen at understanding what others need to make them feel valued and connected to them. They may utilize these skills, especially with mentors and senior leaders to generate positive evaluations of their behavior. However, a mentor who is not benevolent, and perhaps narcissistic as mentioned earlier, may exploit their yearning for connection and praise to maximize their performance. The potential for a truly dysfunctional relationship is highly likely in these cases. The person with impostor syndrome can find themselves in a situation where the mentor or supervisor makes them feel like they ARE truly an impostor and must constantly and unendingly prove themselves. These types of relationships become very hard to break because the person with impostor syndrome may feel as if their ineptitude has been found out, so they continually seek some sort of validation from someone who will never or very rarely provide it, because it keeps the person with impostor syndrome working hard for them.

4. Seeking Mentorship for the Purpose of External Validation

The final behavior that maintains the impostor syndrome is seeking a mentoring relationship from someone, who is well respected in their field, industry, school, or office, in order to gain external validation. But this relationship may be fraught for the person with impostor syndrome for the reason discussed above, or because it can feel inauthentic if the person with impostor syndrome believes they charmed the mentor into positive feedback because they think it has been acquired through duplicitous means (e.g., through charm).

In this example, Sam believes that his positive relationship with mentors and senior leaders has caused them to promote him unjustly, which creates fear and discomfort with his new role:

Sam just got his 3rd promotion at a technology start-up where he has been working since almost right out of college. He’s terrified about the new role and feels he is out of his depth. Everyone at his new level is at least 10 years older than him and have been at big impressive tech giants. Sam is convinced that he is sitting in this seat because he is just very good at getting along with his bosses. He feels like he may have accidentally convinced them simply with his social acumen that he can take on these new roles. In spite of consistent glowing performance reviews from different supervisors, which he believes are inflated, he is terrified of falling on his face in this new job.

In addition, it has been shown that people struggling with impostor syndrome have lower levels of job and career satisfaction, yet higher levels of organizational commitment. So, while people with impostor syndrome tend to be more unhappy in their jobs and careers, they are also likely to commit to these places that are making them unhappy, perhaps in an effort to create some sense of stability and predictability in terms of evaluation. Further, the research also indicates that people with impostor syndrome struggle with marketing themselves, which is critical for job searching or networking. Therefore, their salaries and promotions are usually negatively impacted, which can be seen in lower salaries and fewer promotions. It also shows up in being less optimistic about their career and being less adaptable when things go wrong. Moreover, those with impostor syndrome are likely to have a reduced knowledge of the job market, which makes taking a leap to a new role when they are unhappy even more difficult.

Throughout our experience working with impostor syndrome, we have seen it show up in the following ways that affect professional development:

Not understanding their worth (i.e., salary comps) in the marketplace

Fear of negotiating

Lack of motivation to leave stagnating roles

Reluctance to vie for promotion

Avoidance of high-visibility stretch assignments

Difficulty networking and communicating their accomplishments to others

Trouble envisioning their long-term career future

All of these behaviors of impostor syndrome have a significant impact on advancement, salary, and long-term earnings, but they can be reversed.

THE PROFESSIONAL IMPACT OF YOUR IMPOSTOR SYNDROME

What behaviors related to your impostor syndrome do you find yourself exhibiting? Give a concrete example of each to ground your response in an actual instance. List the behaviors and examples here:

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Trait vs. State

People with impostor syndrome consistently ask, “Is this inherently who I am? Part of my character? Or can I really change this?” Impostor syndrome does not appear to be characterological (i.e., part of your personality) or a trait. It seems that there are certain experiences in family dynamics, beliefs about yourself, and roles that you tend to play that make it more likely for you to have the propensity to struggle with impostor syndrome. In other words, you were not born like this no matter what other people tell you or want you to believe.

You may struggle to let go of certain behaviors, thoughts, and feelings connected to impostor syndrome because of the belief that your current success or accomplishments are a result of these behaviors, and if you let them go, all will be lost. Behaviors such as overworking and perfectionism are the hardest to change—largely, we believe because they are reinforced in our environments. Today, it is very easy to “log back on” to your company’s systems when you go home and work inordinately long hours. If you do more work, get more done, push ahead of deadlines, certainly no one at work is going to reprimand you or tell you to work less, and you are likely going to get the praise you are seeking for being a good, worthy employee. However, it is exactly this behavior that reinforces the impostor syndrome and the ideas that you are not naturally talented and therefore, must give more to be on par with everyone else. Hearing that “mistakes are costly” and seeing colleagues and others around you criticized when they make an error also supports perfectionism. These behaviors can also feed on each other. When people are perfectionistic, they often struggle to delegate tasks and manage down well (i.e., manage direct reports or junior colleagues) because they are concerned about how their colleagues’ work product will reflect on them. Thus, they often overwork, doing their job as well as a ton of other people’s jobs, which often leads to burnout and resentment.

As we work on your impostor syndrome, you will have to constantly keep in mind that aspects of impostor syndrome, like overworking and perfectionism, are not badges of honor. Instead, they are blocks to fully appreciating all your skills and abilities. They are a mask covering your talents, skills, and experiences rather than the reason you have succeeded. Do not allow yourself, your self-esteem, or your personal life to be at their mercy.

Ways to Release Perfectionism

Focus on “good enough” not perfect.

Recognize that perfectionism hurts you and those around you.

Be proud and accepting of your humanity.

Only compare yourself to you.

Find comfort in choosing your own path.

Learn to accept the beauty of compromise.

Choose standards that feel reasonable.

Appreciate mistakes provide opportunity for growth.

Realize that perfection is unattainable and reaching for it makes you feel like a failure.

Gender Differences

While the research does not show that impostor syndrome is significantly more prominent in men or women, it does suggest that there may be gender differences in the way that it manifests. As discussed earlier, men demonstrate a tendency toward underperforming, avoiding goals and feedback, and using peers who are less skilled as a comparison group when they are struggling with impostor syndrome. This then affects them by decreasing the likelihood for promotions and advancement over their lifetime, and reducing salary.[8] Men may feel a pull to save face and to conform to gender norms by doing work that they know how to do and will be successful at, rather than take the chance of failing and suffering the resulting self-esteem blow. Coping with the impostor syndrome by underperforming also reduces the feelings of anxiety, fear, and discomfort that impostor syndrome induces because there are fewer chances of feeling like an impostor.

For women, it’s quite the opposite. Women seem to take the leap into the challenge, which often heightens the impostor syndrome. Women who struggle with impostor syndrome spend more time on academic tasks than those without impostor syndrome,[9] work harder when they receive negative feedback,[10] and have higher GPAs than men with impostor syndrome.[11] A 2018 study by Lauren A. Blondeau and Germine H. Awad,[12] found that having low self-efficacy and impostor syndrome did not impede a woman from pursuing a STEM career. Her GPA and interests were more influential to her choice. When men had high impostor syndrome scores in the study, they were less likely to pursue a STEM career. This shows a definite tendency for women to be counterphobic (i.e., facing fears directly) when it comes to impostor syndrome fears, which leaves them steeped in the constant experiences of feeling like an impostor.

In both ways of coping, the significant impact of impostor syndrome on your future and current functioning is pretty clear. Either you get the relief immediately by underperforming and avoiding or you are counterphobic and experience all the intense impostor feelings as you continue to accomplish, but don’t get the relief because you discount these successes, which leaves you constantly under the weight of the impostor syndrome. Hopefully, this makes it really clear why building your skills around dismantling the impostor syndrome is incredibly important to you and your future so that you can own your greatness, live up to your potential, and enjoy it.

WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL IMPOSTOR RESPONSE?

In this space indicate whether you tend to avoid or engage the tasks that you fear due to your experience of impostor syndrome. Then consider if/when you notice the alternative response. For example, I tend to engage the tasks that prompt impostor syndrome, but if there is potential for conflict in the task, then I will tend to avoid it.

The Impact of Culture

Impostor syndrome becomes harder to cope with when the stereotypes about your cultural group reinforce the notion that you are not “good enough.” In marginalized communities, when your mere presence evokes concern that you have been given special treatment to be present in certain environments, the environment is telling you that you are an impostor. This makes overcoming your impostor syndrome particularly difficult because your accomplishments are actively disqualified (e.g., “you only attended that school because of affirmative action” or “they needed to diversify the team”). These are things you not only hear, but also experience when an organization further supports the idea that you are an impostor by over- or underutilizing you (e.g., not staffing you on important and internally visible teams or projects despite demanding your presence for public-facing pictures or for diversity initiatives). These types of microaggressions and microinsults at work can lead to entrenching the impostor syndrome because the external proof that you need to show yourself that you are not an impostor is harder to find.

Similarly, the concept of “stereotype threat” is useful to understand here as well. Stereotype threat is conforming to a well-known stereotype of a group you belong to when someone invokes the stereotype. In a very famous seminal study of stereotype threat conducted in 1995 by Claude Steele[13] from Stanford University and Joshua Aronson of University of Texas at Austin, these researchers found that Black college students scored significantly worse on standardized testing when they were told by an examiner that Black students would complete fewer questions and that it was an assessment of personal qualities. When the Black students were simply given instructions for the standardized tests, they scored similarly to the White students in the study. What Steele and Aronson, as well as hundreds of other researchers, were able to establish is that evoking a stereotype, sometimes even without words, can create diminished performance. Stereotype threat has been thought to contribute to gender and racial academic achievement gaps.

Now, imagine someone with impostor syndrome and from a marginalized group experiencing this stereotyping. This further impacts her performance as well as her anticipation of performing, perhaps further cementing the thoughts and insecurities that underlie impostor syndrome. Research has suggested that overcoming impostor syndrome for marginalized groups requires, besides the steps that we will cover in this book, a connection to and the ability to embrace the marginalized identity and the people who are similarly identified. It means not only connecting with those similar to you in this identity group, but also believing the counter narrative to the stereotype.

For example, if you are Black, the stereotypes that you are not academically capable have a long history of being ingrained in a cultural understanding of who deserves to be in the room and of meritocracy. Those beliefs are so perpetuated that often they are internalized by Black people, leading to beliefs that question other Black people’s worthiness, academic ability, and intellectual rigor. To overcome impostor syndrome, you have to work to connect with other Black people and the belief that their worthiness is not in question. When you question the competence of other people with similar salient identities, you challenge your own (even if only on an unconscious level). When you can believe in their competence and give them the benefit of the doubt, you can believe in your own.

Besides race and gender, various other identities (e.g., religion, immigration status, sexual orientation, economic, and veteran status), as well as the intersectionality and salience of particular identities, should be considered as you examine how identity has impacted your development of impostor syndrome. For example, if you are a recent immigrant, you may want to understand the relevance of your immigration journey on the experience of feeling fraudulent in certain circumstances, especially if you have felt that this identity impacts your ability to internalize your accomplishments.

In this chapter, we have outlined the characteristics that underlie impostor syndrome and examined how it may manifest differently based on gender. We have also laid out the additional cultural aspects of overcoming impostor syndrome and how it can apply to a marginalized group, where competence is questioned as a result of stereotypes. Now, it’s time to examine the important aspects of impostor syndrome that are most relevant for you.

THE KEY FEATURES OF YOUR IMPOSTOR SYNDROME

Review signs of impostor syndrome on page 1 as well as any other salient components of impostor syndrome that you have. This can include any potential gender, racial, ethnic, or other identity considerations. List them on the next page.

YOUR IMPOSTOR SYNDROME INTENSITY

After you have completed your own assessment of the features of impostor syndrome that are specific to your experience, take Clance’s test for impostor phenomenon, which you can find here.

Once you have scored your assessment, circle your current level of impostor feelings:

FEW MODERATE FREQUENT INTENSE

Reviewing your current level of impostor feelings is helpful in understanding the present impact of impostor syndrome on your life and career. If you score in the few to moderate range, this may be a great time to tackle the book because you are not feeling impostor syndrome in its most pressing state. This will allow you to look back at experiences when your impostor feelings were more powerful, and analyze and review them from a distance. If you are experiencing impostor syndrome at the frequent to intense range, this likely suggests that impostor syndrome is quite salient for you right now. You may have plenty of experiences that are coming up for you that you will be able to pull from and directly impact as you work through this book.

The 3 C’s Strategy to Overcoming Impostor Syndrome

Overcoming impostor syndrome can be a challenging proposition, especially when faced with a stressful work or personal environment. It may feel impossible to eliminate these thoughts and feelings of being a fraud, and you may always be on edge about being exposed.

Jocelyn was someone who constantly had such feelings. She was a management consultant who had worked in her field for several years and was on the partner track. Jocelyn worked long hours and traveled extensively. She had no social life and rarely saw her family, with whom she was very close. She came to seek coaching because she was thinking about making a career change. Despite receiving glowing performance reviews every year, Jocelyn felt like an impostor and was always concerned that she would be fired or be asked to leave her firm. Her manager would often tell her how well she was doing, but it did not convince her. She dreaded Mondays because she anticipated the miserable commute, the constant anxiety during her work hours, and the grind of the day. During the course of coaching, we identified that a good deal of her work stress was due to her impostor syndrome. Until we named it as such, Jocelyn thought these feelings of self-doubt were just part of her personality and could not be changed. She was relieved to find out that it was something that could be addressed and changed.

Fortunately, we developed the 3 C’s (Clarify, Choose, and Create) Strategy, which helped Jocelyn and can also help you alleviate fears and self-doubt, and vanquish your impostor syndrome. This chapter will provide a brief overview of the 3 C’s Strategy, and subsequent chapters will explore each phase of the strategy in more depth, with corresponding activities to help you master its application to live your best life possible.

We have used the 3 C’s Strategy as a framework during our more than 15 years in practice to help our clients overcome impostor syndrome. While impostor syndrome is not a diagnosable disorder, we have found that by using the 3 C’s strategy, our clients are able to diminish their impostor syndrome thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to improve the quality of their work and personal lives.

The 3 C’s Strategy involves reflecting on all aspects of your life, some of which you may not have considered (e.g., your self-constructed narrative), as well as clearly identifying factors that may have influenced the development of your impostor syndrome (e.g., family dynamics). It also prompts you to actively engage with others about your impostor syndrome rather than suffering with it in silent shame. While you may periodically have those impostor syndrome thoughts and feelings, applying the 3 C’s Strategy will cause them to occur less frequently and have less of an influence on your behavior.

Each of the three phases of the 3 C’s Strategy contains three steps, for a total of nine steps. When working with our clients, we tend to move through the phases in a sequential manner, with tangible activities to complete in each area. There is no set time period to move through the phases, but it is important to remain consistently focused on the tasks required for each phase. Such consistency will facilitate your ability to apply the strategy for its maximum effectiveness.

The 3 C’s Model

The 3 C’s strategy will be a key tool to help you overcome impostor syndrome. By progressing through each step within each phase, you will build confidence, change your thinking, create a more positive narrative, and finally own your greatness. When your impostor syndrome rears its ugly head, you will be well-equipped to spot it, neutralize it, and continue on your road to living in the glory of your accomplishments and excitement about your future.

Chapters 2 through 4 will review Phase 1 (Clarify) and the first three steps of the 3C’s strategy, which are knowing your origin story, identifying your triggers, and changing your narrative. Chapters 5 through 7 will examine Phase 2 (Choose) and the next three steps, which are speak your truth, silence automatic negative thoughts, and value your self-care. Chapters 8 through 10 will cover Phase 3 (Create), and the final three steps of the 3C’s strategy, which include experimenting with new roles, establishing your dream team, and understanding the optimal conditions for your success.

In these next chapters, we are going to outline our program for overcoming your impostor syndrome. We will lay out the 3 C’s Strategy to put an end to the way that impostor syndrome impacts your life, your view of your accomplishments, and your performance and advancement. We are going to help you to feel a sense of control and a reduction in fear of being revealed as a fraud. Once you can really own your greatness, you are going to be unstoppable!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

You understand the key components of impostor syndrome.

You comprehend its impact on career and work.

You have learned how gender may impact impostor syndrome.

You see how stereotyping around culture and identity can impact the perpetual impostor syndrome.

You have evaluated your own level of impostor syndrome.

You understand the brief overview of the 3C’s Strategy.

Sources:

[1] Clance and Imes, “The Impostor Phenomenon in High-Achieving Women,” 241–47.

[2] Gravois, “You’re Not Fooling Anyone,” in If I’m So Successful, Why Do I Feel Like a Fake? eds. Joan C. Harvey and Cynthia Katz (New York: Random House, 1985).

[3] Cozzarelli and Major, “Exploring the Validity of the Impostor Phenomenon,” 401–17; McGregor, Gee, and Posey, “I Feel Like a Fraud,” 43–48.

[4] Cromwell et al., “The Impostor Phenomenon and Personality Characteristics,” 563–67; Bernard et al., “Applying the Big Five Personality Factors,” 321–33.

[5] Chayer and Bouffard, “Relations between Impostor Feelings and Upward and Downward Identification,” 125–40.

[6] Tao and Gloria, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” 1–14.

[7] Chayer and Bouffard, “Relations between Impostor Feelings and Upward and Downward Identification,” 125–40; Yuen and Depper, “Fear of Failure in Women,” 21–39.

[8] Kumar and Jagacinski, “Impostors Have Goals Too,” 147–57; Neureiter and Traut-Mattausch, “An Inner Barrier to Career Development,” 37–48.

[9] King and Cooley, “Achievement Orientation and the Impostor Phenomenon,” 304–12.

[10] Badawy et al., “Are All Impostors Created Equal?” 155–63.

[11] Cokley et al., “The Roles of Gender Stigma,” 414–26.

[12] Blondeau and Awad, “The Relation of the Impostor Phenomenon to Future Intentions,” 253–67.

[13] Steele and Aronson, “Stereotype Threat.”

Watch Lisa's workshop on Create & Cultivate IGTV to learn more and discover the steps to overcoming imposter syndrome.