If you were ever a fan of the Seinfeld Show, you may remember the episode where George Costanza, Jerry Seinfeld’s neurotic paranoid friend, takes on a protege. Even if you aren’t familiar with the show or the character of George, you will likely relate to this story.
What happens is that George gets in over his head in a job where he has to read a very large, heavy book about risk management. Then he has to write a report for his boss. Now he is completely lost. And he’s overwhelmed when an opportunity presents itself for him to take on a protege, who he – in effect – gives the same assignment to. All the while pretending that he is the expert on risk management and acting as the knowledgeable mentor. The goal of course is to have the protege do the work he can’t do. (see minute 2:12)
The Connection To Impostor Syndrome
So how does this relate to “impostor syndrome?” What the heck is impostor syndrome? And how do you know if you have it or not? Oh and by the way, if you think you do – what do you do about it?
Let me start with the George/imposter connection. In the show, George really is a fraud. He pretends he is knowledgeable about a topic. To the point of acting as a mentor when really he knows nothing. George was a real imposter. But many of us, especially professional women, feel like we are imposters or frauds even when we are experts in our fields. I know for me, I have a little voice inside my head that says
“crap I am going to be exposed – they will find out I am really a fraud…what do I know anyway?”
I have had this “I feel like a fraud” thing for most of my life. And I know it’s a distortion but it still gives me a physical reaction when it comes on. I am talking a pit in my stomach and cold sweats. But just last week I learned that there is a name for this thing. And that has helped me tremendously and it might help you if you suffer from this too.
Do You Have Impostor Syndrome?
I was with two of my three daughters watching “Star Talk,” with Neil deGrasse Tyson, which is a popular National Geographic show where Tyson interviews Hollywood stars about “sciency”topics. The episode was focused on female scientists. One of the guests mentioned “the imposter syndrome” and how it affects people at all levels and stations. She described exactly how I feel sometimes – like a fraud that someone will eventually find out. So I went online and learned that this is a “thing” and there is even a Wikipedia article on impostor or fraud syndrome.
Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon or fraud syndrome) is a concept describing high-achieving individuals who are marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. The term was coined in 1978 by clinical psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes.
Wrapping It Up
This was a revelation. For some reason I missed it even though the term has been around since 1978 – am I the only one late to the party here? But the good news is now that we know it has a name we can distance ourselves from it. We can point to it and tell it “you aren’t real. ” We can remove it as part of our own self and be free to be the experts and highly effective individuals that we are. Whew!
Next time you get that wave of “what if they find out I really don’t know what I am doing?” remember that 1) you aren’t George and 2) it’s just the imposter syndrome rearing it’s ugly head – and tell it to go away.
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