Nearly 70% of people have entertained imposter thoughts at one point in their career, including extremely successful people like Albert Einstein and Maya Angelou. “Imposter Syndrome” is commonly thought of as a feeling of being inadequate and a fraud – with the fear of being discovered as an imposter – despite experiencing success at work. Certainly, the belief that you’re not as competent as others think you are can make you anxious, increase stress, lower your self-esteem, and interfere with pursuing goals. These downsides are well known, but it is not all bad news.
New research by Basima Tewfik, an assistant professor at MIT Sloan, has found that there is an upside to having imposter thoughts. Her research found that experiencing this phenomenon can make you more adept at relationships, a key ingredient to career success. Dr. Tewfik found imposter thoughts make you more “other-oriented” – more attuned to other people’s perceptions and feelings – which makes you more likable. In addition, she found in her research that having imposter thoughts did not hurt performance. Click on this link to read the study.
