What Is Imposter Syndrome?

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Impostor syndrome refers to feelings of inadequacy that people experience despite a pattern of achievement.

Steps to conquer impostor syndrome take a fix-the-individual approach (i.e., confidence training, power pose).

Discussions on impostor syndrome assume the person is the problem. But what if it is really the environment?

Impostorization refers to the systems, interactions, and dynamics that trigger impostor feelings.

We have probably heard or read about impostor syndrome—those feelings of inadequacy that people experience and the fear that others will discover they do not belong in the position they occupy. What is problematic about the discussions, articles, and social media clips on impostor syndrome is that they assume the person is the problem.

The narrative goes something like this.

Are you feeling incompetent? Do you feel like you do not belong in your position or the university you got into?

If so, then you are experiencing impostor syndrome. The advice, which may include strengthening your self-esteem or standing in power poses, often takes a fix-the-individual approach.

But what if these feelings of unintelligence and unbelonging are not stemming from within but rather from the environments we occupy? What if these feelings are being triggered by the workplaces, universities, and other spaces we are........

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