Beyond Imposter Syndrome

I'm over "Imposter Syndrome". Here's why.

Calling self-doubt a syndrome turns a normal human experience into a diagnosis. It labels it as a problem and locates it inside you. Something that needs to be treated or fixed.

But what if you aren't the problem?

Sometimes self-doubt is just part of learning a new role or building new skills. Sometimes it's an old pattern activated by the environment or the people around you. Sometimes it's a completely rational response to unclear expectations from leadership, inherently biased organisations, or cultures that reward performative behaviours over substance.

In these contexts, doubting yourself makes total sense.

So maybe the question shouldn't be "what's wrong with me?" but instead, "what am I responding to?"

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The term was originally coined as the "Imposter Phenomenon" by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978. It was never intended to be called a syndrome. Somewhere along the way, we medicalised a common experience and began turning our attention to the individual (usually women) rather than the wider systems.