Since the 1978 publishing of Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes’ seminal research around imposter syndrome, there has been a great focus on diagnosing women and helping women as individuals overcome the experience of imposter syndrome or phenomenon. For instance, we know that the imposter phenomenon causes feelings of self-doubt, unworthiness, and self-sabotage. This creates tension and strain in relationships which further compounds the experience of the imposter phenomenon. However, very little work has been done on examining the origins, correlative factors, and exacerbating events that lead to women experiencing imposter phenomenon. As Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey eloquently write in their Feb 2021 Harvard Business Review article “Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome,” it is the organizational cultures and structures in which women exist and operate that need to change in order to reduce or eliminate imposter phenomenon. Women, in and of themselves, did not create the environment in which imposter phenomenon incubates so they cannot prevent or stop imposter phenomenon – organizations and their leaders can.

 

This session will explore the underlying causes of imposter phenomenon such as racism, sexism, etc., the correlative factors such as health equity, presence of role models, etc., and the events that exacerbate it such as COVID-19, the resurgence of Black Lives Matter. Furthermore, this session will discuss solutions to imposter phenomenon on a leadership and organizational level.

 

What you will learn: