No soy un impostor, ¿entonces por qué me siento como uno?

En personas afroamericanas y mujeres, el “sindrome del impostor” es especialmente dañino.

La major forma de combatirlo es establecer metas realistas y abordar los sentimientos a medida que aparecen.

Hay personas que experimentan el “síndrome del impostor” y es cuando tienden a creer que lo que han ganado, les ha sido otorgado por accidente, casualidad o suerte. Ante esto, hay que detenerse, enfrentarlo y nivelar el campo de juego.

I’m Not an Impostor — So Why Do I Feel Like One?
LeRon L. Barton
c.2022 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp.

LeRon L. Barton is a writer, author and speaker based in San Francisco. 

From HBR.org

Before every lecture I give, I scan the audience. It’s almost always made up of accomplished professionals — directors, engineers, managers and executives. Almost all of them are white. I wonder: Am I supposed to be here? Giving a lecture to people who are way more successful than I am? Is this a joke? Or have I just lucked out?

This is part of what I, as a Black man in corporate America, regularly experience: impostor syndrome.

The term <a href=»https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/200912/why-do-so-many-women-experience-the-imposter-syndrome#:~:text=The%20term%20%E2%80%9Cimposter%20syndrome%E2%80%9D%20was%20originally%20coined%20by,rank%2C%20and%20salary%2C%20these%20women%20felt%20like%20phonies.» rel=»nofollow»>“impostor syndrome” </a>was coined in the 1970s during a study of high-achieving women. It describes the feeling that arises from questioning whether you’re deserving of your achievements. People who experience it tend to believe that what they’ve earned was awarded to them by accident, chance or luck. <a href=»https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/imposter-syndrome» rel=»nofollow»>Between 25% to 30% of high achievers</a> feel impostor syndrome. It can be debilitating, and, according to one report by<a href=»https://www.tuw.edu/psychology/imposter-syndrome/» rel=»nofollow»> Tuoro University,</a> it is «typically caused by cyclical societal norms and expectations.”

For Black people, impostor syndrome can be especially damaging. From a young age, many of us are taught to believe our achievements pale in comparison with those of our white peers. Our seniors <a href=»https://hbr.org/2019/11/the-costs-of-codeswitching» rel=»nofollow»>tell us</a> (and the <a href=»https://hbr.org/2019/11/toward-a-racially-just-workplace» rel=»nofollow»>research reiterates</a>): “You have to work twice as hard to get half of what they have.” As we graduate into the workforce and fail to see ourselves represented in <a href=»https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/race-in-the-workplace-the-black-experience-in-the-us-private-sector» rel=»nofollow»>so many industries</a>, how can we not believe it? How can we not ask: Do I really belong here?

Neha Sampat, founder of BelongLab, believes that for racialized people, impostor syndrome is a form of internalized bias. She told me, “When you’ve grown up with people telling you explicitly or implicitly that you don’t belong or questioning your worth, at some point you <em>can</em> — not necessarily <em>will</em> — have that voice of doubt burrow into your brain. It becomes the voice that says: ‘Who do I think I am?’”

Sampat said the best way to battle impostor syndrome is to set realistic goals and address the feelings as they show up. “We’re acculturated to try and outrun our feelings of self-doubt, but what we should do is stop, turn around and face them.”

Many Black Americans in the corporate world are starting to do the work. The diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) sector is <a href=»https://hbr.org/2022/01/dei-gets-real» rel=»nofollow»>growing</a>. Professionals are holding group discussions. More organizations are calling attention to mental health resources that offer <a href=»https://www.verywellmind.com/mental-health-resources-for-the-black-community-5181656″ rel=»nofollow»>services specifically </a><a href=»https://www.verywellmind.com/mental-health-resources-for-the-black-community-5181656″ rel=»nofollow»>designed </a><a href=»https://www.verywellmind.com/mental-health-resources-for-the-black-community-5181656″ rel=»nofollow»>for Black people</a>.

The organization Black Executive Men, for example, counsels Black men to help them overcome the challenges they face in corporate America, build confidence and find inner peace. “There’s a certain racial element of this being attached to their thinking in being viewed as competent or incompetent,” said Jewel Love, the CEO of Black Executive Men. This is where having a coach or therapist that they can speak with regularly and validate their experiences is important.”

We need to keep doing this work to level the playing field. When I sense impostor syndrome creeping up, I do as Sampat said. I address it. I remind myself: I’ve earned my accomplishments because I’m competent and talented — not by chance.