Why it’s bullshit to say men don’t get imposter syndrome

(approx 4 minute read)

Men’s Mental Fitness has done its own research to see if or how imposter syndrome is affecting men when it comes to work. Turns out yes, almost universally. 

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Historically, imposter syndrome has been a psychological feeling that’s more commonly associated with women. Apparently it wasn’t something us men experienced. 

But there is more and more research saying it impacts men as much as women. 

In recent years there have been reams of articles and talk of it in the media. There’s even a recent BBC Documentary called Imposter Syndrome that interviews celebrities (Craig David, Sir Bradley Winggins and Ella Eyre to name a few) who open up about their imposter syndrome. There’s countless scientific studies on the topic. There’s even 390K Instagram posts featuring #impostersyndrome. 

What is imposter syndrome? 

Firstly, for those who don’t know what it is or haven’t heard of the term, a quick (sort of) definition: a phenomenon described as self-doubt of intellect, skills, or accomplishments among high-achieving individuals. These individuals cannot internalise their success and subsequently experience feelings of self-doubt, anxiety, depression, and/or apprehension of being exposed as a fraud in their work, despite verifiable and objective evidence of their success.

The origins of imposter syndrome

This may explain why it was originally thought of as something only to affect women.

The term was introduced in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes in one of their studies that focused on high-achieving women. Essentially they all felt like frauds who’d blagged their way to the top.

Survey findings

Our sample size was small (50), but insight nonetheless. 

Men’s Mental Fitness’ research is centred around imposter syndrome at work. Much like the original 1978 study, the participants in this survey are all operating at pretty senior levels.

Firstly, only 4% of participants don’t know what imposter syndrome is. A good start. And only 12% have never experienced it. 

The frequency of how often the participants experience imposter syndrome at work is revealing: daily (4%), weekly, (24%), monthly (24%), less than monthly (36%).

Clearly imposter syndrome is rife among the participants. 

How did this manifest? Anxiety (28%), feeling like people are going to find out I don’t know what I’m doing (56%), I find it difficult to accept compliments when I do something good (48%), I criticise myself (60%), I don’t think I deserve this role (12%), and my success is down to luck / I’ve fluked it (32%). 

Plenty of self-doubt and worry evident here.

Delving into the findings a little further, some of the participants have expanded on their imposter feelings.

1. “The sentence 'my success is down to luck, I've fluked getting where I am today' really resonated with me, which then leads to the other statement of 'people are going to find out I don't know what I'm doing'. I get by thinking I'm on borrowed time before it all goes wrong and any kind of scrutiny or observation of my work causes me to worry about this.”

2. “I’ve had imposter syndrome my entire career, and through all my roles. I see talent and don’t feel I am on the same playing field which fundamentally impacts my confidence and builds self doubt (regardless that I’ve secured a senior leadership role across several global regions). I often feel like I’m in my role by luck and any credibility is really not achieved personally but by the talent I work with and/or is in my team. I do recognise my imposter syndrome and do try to manage it but when it gets overwhelming, it really impacts my overall mental health and personal / family life too.”

3.“Everytime someone new starts in my team I feel a need to prove myself to them, no matter their level of seniority. I feel like I work doubly hard for a period of time to really show them I know what I’m doing. I wonder if they think I’m shit at my job. Also, I recently got promoted to director at my company. I kept thinking my peers who were previously on the same level probably thought I didn’t deserve it and I only got promoted because I get on well with my boss.”

To say men don’t get imposter syndrome appears to be bullshit then.