The Reality Beneath Imposter Syndrome | Christine vs Work

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0:40Jodi-Ann Burey:i've been wanting to do a video on imposter syndrome since like day one and it's because every time i talk about it with other people i work with a lot of times women you know it's just like we all feel this way am i in the right place they picked me but why they must have made a mistake. I shouldn't be here. Then I get upset with myself because I'm like, why am I feeling this way? I should be confident. I should be grateful for this opportunity, but I don't. So what is wrong with me? I just want to figure out WTF is up with imposter syndrome. Why does it affect so many smart, talented people?

1:14Jodi-Ann Burey:And how do I deal with these feelings? So I thought I knew what imposter syndrome was, but it turns out I didn't even have the whole story. And I'm going to show you what I learned, so stick around. It's going to be a game changer.

1:33Imparsis syndrome has such a hold on our cultural narrative and has become like the predominant way that we talk about women's experiences, typically in white collar workplaces.

1:46Jodi-Ann Burey:That's Jodianne Burry. She's a writer and a speaker who works at the intersections of race, culture, and health equity. She's the co-author of the HBR article, Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome, with Ruchika Tulsian. Can you go into a little bit about where this term actually came from? It was first termed imposter phenomenon, which I found probably the most interesting of all of this, in 1978 by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, the two psychologists who were first looking at a small sample of predominantly white, high income, quote unquote, high achieving, put this in heavy quotations, women in their professional settings.

2:29Jodi-Ann Burey:So in this study published in 1978, it says, despite outstanding academic and professional accomplishments, women who experience the imposter phenomenon persists in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise. Sound familiar? Even though it was first coined and termed in 1978, our cultural narrative and understanding of imposter syndrome hasn't really changed since then. It just never really resonated with me. And so that kind of led me on this path of looking at the original study, formulating my own ideas about it and trying to give language to why it irritated me so much.

3:16Jodi-Ann Burey:Julian argues that imposter syndrome is a distraction. It's a false narrative that people in power use to draw attention away from systemic problems in the workplace, like lack of opportunity, lack of fair pay, lack of diversity. The list goes on. I think the reason why imposter syndrome still has such a hold on our cultural narrative is that there's enough in it that's true, right? You're in these environments where those messages take something that is probably true for everyone, that self-doubt, that uncertainty, and magnifies it, right? Where, of course, you know, it would be difficult to internalize your success or to feel successful when you're feeling this constant barrage of these chronic messages that are just laced with bias and discrimination.

4:06The schools that you went to weren't enough. You aren't smart enough. You aren't doing the right thing. Hey, you're the only person like you in this room. So yeah, you don't belong here, right?

4:18Jodi-Ann Burey:Let's all take a step back, look further upstream and ask the larger question, who and why are people feeling this way? When you belong to a group, right, that has either been historically exploited or abused in the workforce or you've been historically excluded from the workforce, right? It puts you in this situation. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks.

4:57Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online makes sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18 plus. Propel Fitness Water with Gatorade electrolytes, zero sugar, and vitamins. Propel hydrates better than water to help you get the most out of your workout and get back to your best self. What propels you? Propel with Gatorade electrolytes. Where you can still feel that friction, right, of that historical exploitation abuse or exclusion. Even the mere fact that our cultural narrative had morphed imposter phenomenon to imposter syndrome illuminates this inclination to provide some faux medical diagnosis for women to explain away the chronic discrimination that we've experienced.

5:52You know, Imposter syndrome I see as a safe for work terminology versus racism or sexism and some of these other systemic biases that can perpetuate and amplify these feelings that we call imposter syndrome. Let's say you're nervous because you got a new job.

6:09Jodi-Ann Burey:That's real. Or you're scared that your ideas might be shot down in a meeting. Those feelings are real too. But are you an imposter? Are you abnormal? Do you have a condition? No. No! Jodi-Anne suggests thinking of imposter syndrome as a proxy term for something else that might be going on. For me, first I'm like, okay, what type of imposter syndrome is this? This could be the imposter syndrome that's the proxy for me just feeling uncertain, right? When I'm learning something or I'm encountering something new, especially when the stakes are really high. I don't know anyone who wouldn't feel some type of self-doubt or uncertainty when they're stepping into a new role, a new industry, a new job, a new department, just a new project.

6:57You know, there is going to be something that you're just like, I don't know. I don't know if I can do this. Right. Learning, learning is so uncomfortable. The last time I learned something was snowboarding and it was very painful.

7:11Jodi-Ann Burey:Oftentimes the advice you hear about imposter syndrome sounds like you're complaining, right? Just be more confident, you know, do a superhero or pose in the bathroom, just feel better about yourself. That feels like the easier thing to address, right? But we don't look at the fact that for a lot of women, disproportionately women of color, it's the confidence that got you in trouble in the first place. The worst part of this is that imposter syndrome puts the pressure on the individual to make changes instead of the company to reform and be better. It becomes a really gross cycle. Here's a couple hundred bucks.

7:47go to your lady conference, go learn how to overcome imposter syndrome. But when you come back to the office, I'm still going to underpay you, still going to interrupt you every time you try to say something. It positions companies to be able to say, like, we want to change, right? We want to be inclusive. But then you never have to change. You never have to lean more towards more inclusive practices because you've amplified a narrative where you don't actually have a direct role.

8:20Jodi-Ann Burey:When I realized imposter syndrome isn't something you must conquer within oneself, but is actually a convenient shortcut that glosses over what's actually happening, it changed the game for me. Like, it seriously blew my mind. If you're feeling like you have imposter syndrome, Jodian has a checklist of questions you should to ask yourself so you can really get to the bottom of what's going on. It's really helpful to have a clear mind when you do this, so create some space for that. All right, I'm gonna try this. So let's go with these questions. What is making me feel like an imposter right now?

8:58Jodi-Ann Burey:Well, I'll start with an example. I remember when I felt like an imposter when I was invited to be a small hosting role, role a huge conference featuring some of the most like household name CEOs and I'm just like uh I'm not worthy like everybody else is way more famous and interesting and important um so why am I this episode is brought to you by google chrome you think you know a browser but gemini and chrome that's new it can help you with practically anything on the web like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks.

9:38Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18 plus. Propel fitness water with Gatorade electrolytes, zero sugar and vitamins. Propel hydrates better than water to help you get the most out of your workout and get back to your best self. What propels you? Propel with Gatorade electrolytes.

10:04Jodi-Ann Burey:When else have I felt this way? Uh, I think anytime that I am like in the presence of, uh, people that I admire or I feel like they're just so worldly, um, and who am I to kind of like share that space with them? Oh, this is honest. Is there a trend or pattern, um, that makes me feel like this? I think this goes into like, if I am invited to something or I get accepted to something and I'm just like, oh, I'm looking around and everyone just seems a lot more with it. And so I think it's just a comparison of me or what I think I bring and what I think everyone else brings and that's the gap. Let's see, how does it compare to this time?

10:52Um, I don't know.

10:56Jodi-Ann Burey:You know what, I think it would be really weird if I was like one of the like main guests or anything like that. That would have been weird. but I think my role in that event, given my time here and my contributions here, does, upon reflection, seem commensurate with the role that I was given. Reflect on your story and it's going to tell you something. It might tell you that the feelings you're feeling are because you're in something new, you're learning. That's super exciting and those feelings are normal. It might also tell you that the particular environment you're working in is not supporting you in the way that you need it to be.

11:32Jodi-Ann Burey:Let's say I have a friend who comes to me and they're having a really tough time. They're like, oh, work is challenging. I don't know what's going on. I think this is just another imposter syndrome flaring up. What's your advice for sharing all this goodness and mindset and change to my friend? So first you want to acknowledge their feelings and honor the fact that they're coming and sharing this with you. And so what you don't want to start with is saying, you don't have imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is, you know, BS. No, you're going to say, I'm really sorry that you're going through that.

12:10Right? Acknowledge them first.

12:11Jodi-Ann Burey:Syndrome is fake, but the feelings are real. If it makes sense, you can walk them through some of those questions from the checklist earlier and try to pinpoint what is triggering those feelings of imposter syndrome. Now that we've learned that imposter syndrome is actually systemic and not really on the individual, what can we do to address it? No matter where you sit in an organization, you can be part of the solution. One idea is to ask your company for greater transparency on pay and promotion rates across demographics, race, age, gender, child status, ability status, et cetera, and address and correct any bias.

12:50Jodi-Ann Burey:Jodi-Ann also suggests advocating for equitable distributions of resources to support your work. Oftentimes, you might be asked to lead a task with no money, no help, little time. And so that can get you into a cycle of, oh, maybe I'm not good enough or smart enough for this, when maybe you're not adequately supported to execute on the task because you don't have the right resources. Keeping your managers accountable is major. Asking for support, asking for quality feedback, and asking to not be micromanaged. You can also ask your company about culture surveys or feedback tools that promote inclusive policies and practices that benefit everyone.

13:32It might not feel as easy or as fast to look at it structurally. That's really the only way that we can ensure that we're not still talking about imposter syndrome in the same way 50 years from now.

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