Coaching Imposter Syndrome:
The Coach’s Perspective. A Summary
“Coaching Imposter Syndrome: The Coach’s Perspective. Summary
My Masters in Coaching research dissertation “Coaching Imposter Syndrome: The Coach’s Perspective, investigates coaching imposter syndrome from the coach’s perspective, critically reviewing over 60 mainly empirical peer reviewed studies grounded in clinical and applied psychology spanning five decades, with less than a handful of relevant studies mentioning coaching as an intervention to alleviate imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome has become a buzzword [1] and a bit of a mis-understood catch-all, often misused by many. Its enigmatic nature and lack of research from a coaching perspective sparked my interest and this 12-month deep dive into the coach’s perspective of supporting and alleviating this complex phenomenon.
I chose to research through the coaches’ eyes as there was nothing else out there exploring this perspective of imposter syndrome. It’s a topic we coaches often discuss, it’s so enigmatic, and as a coach I see the emergence of a small industry centred around solving even curing imposter syndrome - it sparked my curiosity.
In a small qualitative exploratory study, I investigated the experience and perception of six qualified, experienced, external coaches coaching clients with imposter syndrome and drew on the relationships or not to the vast extant literature mentioned above. Six main themes emerged:
Labelling: Consideration of the concept of labelling within a coaching context: Coaches labelling a selection of symptoms e.g. “This sounds like imposter syndrome”, or working with clients who self-label e.g., “It’s my imposter syndrome, it’s driving me mad”. Labelling was the most prevalent theme throughout my research, does labelling someone or oneself with imposter syndrome (or anything) create a self-fulfilling prophesy or insight and ownership? It’s a fine line and entirely dependent client’s very individual factors and the skills of the coach. A one-size fits all answer doesn’t exist here. If coaching is a non-diagnostic, non-judgemental space [2], is labelling pseudo-diagnosing? Is it appropriate or helpful? Is it important? My findings showed labelling imposter syndrome to be limiting and even detrimental to the coach and the client.
Spectrum: My research highlighted a concern over the use of the term ‘imposter syndrome’, ‘imposters’, ‘your imposter’ and ‘syndrome’. Existing studies show that imposter syndrome is at the far end of a spectrum [3, 4], my research placed a spotlight on the difference between those who experience ‘imposter feelings’, which are common and a ‘normal’ response to certain situations or periods in our life, versus those much rarer cases of imposter syndrome; which almost all studies acknowledge as serious, potentially debilitating, potentially manifesting in psychological distress and even burnout. Imposter syndrome is rarer than one might imagine, particularly as it’s become such common parlance, it’s possibly in danger of over-use. This is concerned my research participants who stressed the importance of language, words and terminology in terms of coach approach and client support – words really matter!
Personal: In every study, including my own, imposter feelings and syndrome were described as unequivocally individual, manifesting, and presenting differently for everyone. There are similarities across some broad characteristics, but how feelings present, what triggers them and where they began are highly individual. My study suggests that no two clients who come to coaching are the same and the participants in my study are wary of cookie-cutter approaches to working in such a personal context.
Systemic Concerns: Only a handful of studies touch on the workplace and organisational implications of imposter syndrome [5-7], research in this area is growing and I’m very interested in this area. Whilst it is an individual construct, often maladaptive behaviours stemming from childhood parental and sibling relationships [8] it is also a systemic concern. Individuals are influenced and in turn influence their workplace system and culture. My study concurs with current literature that workplace and organisational culture can have a huge impact on the development, breeding and severity of imposter feelings/syndrome and the individual’s resulting behaviours can negatively affect the culture, creating a perfect storm for certain individuals and teams. My study identified the importance working with the individual and their system to create sustainable change; ditch the label and work with the person.
Bespoke Coaching Approach: My research found only 2 peer reviewed studies that offered a coaching context in alleviating imposter syndrome, although many mention coaching as a valid strategy. The participants in my research are academically qualified and very experienced coaches, they work with the individuality of their client and their unique lived experience and within their wider system. They choose not to work with imposter syndrome as a label or a construct. They work mainly with psychology-based and evidence based-approaches which they eclectically flex and tailor to the ever-changing needs of their client. A summary cannot do this piece justice, there were so many insights and ways of working with and supporting clients who may present or self-label imposter syndrome.
The Value of Coaching: My study concurs with many others on the benefits of coaching, the coaching relationship and the value coaches bring in working with limiting beliefs, maladaptive behaviours, and mind-set [9-11]. It highlights that coaching may be the first safe place someone can share these feelings, which is very relevant to mental health and self-care at work. Therapy is accessible yet it still has a stigma attached and many people, particularly when discussing their work life, just won’t go there [9]. Coaches’, and the 1-to-1 coaching relationship has value in supporting clients in the sustainable alleviation of imposter feelings, but my study does not suggest coaching is a panacea. In fact anything claiming to be such cure-all or solution, my study suggests, one should be very wary of. In the rarer cases of imposter syndrome my research shows, experienced coaches with a deep understanding of imposter syndrome and a background in psychology-based approaches may be able to help but raise the question of whether coaching is the best space to work with such a complex and severe construct. Again highlighting the importance of language, words, and terminology and the meaning behind them.
Additionally, I dispelled my own notion that only women suffer from imposter feeling or syndrome. There are now so many studies that bust this myth. It can affect all genders, races, creeds, sectors, industries, ages and levels; it does not discriminate. However, it does affect certain groups more than others and certain groups handle imposter feelings differently; this might be of particular interest to other coaches. I chose not to investigate coaching imposter syndrome through the gender or group lens, although I touched on many interesting studies that did, but with only 10,000 words, so much didn’t make the final cut - but remains part of my own coaching practice and knowledge bank.
My study raised many questions around the difference between imposter feelings, imposter syndrome, lack of self-confidence and self-doubt - they are similar but not the same and the differences are important in terms of support and self-efficacy. It raised the efficacy, and ethical considerations in a coaching setting of labelling or pseudo-diagnosing anything, particularly a syndrome. It also raised the professional and ethical question of whether propagating the term imposter syndrome within our industry or the workplace is even helpful. My findings suggest it’s unhelpful in the long-term, the catch-all term imposter syndrome can be detrimental to people and workplaces. I continue to investigate these areas in my practice, peer groups and supervision.
In my study I recommend educational and support programmes on the complexities of the imposter spectrum from feelings to syndrome, for coaches, coaching supervisors, organisational leaders, and workplaces. Based on what I’ve found from this piece of research there is a need for more research backed information and guidance particularly for workplaces and leaders; one could be inadvertently doing more harm than good in some cases. I’m working on creating materials based on my research that fit these spaces and provide organisations factual and researched guidance to be able to support their people and consider and nurture their culture.
Contextually it’s important to know extant research is based primarily in the world of clinical psychology. Coaching is a relatively new profession and I recommend further research into the clients’ perception of being coached as a support for imposter syndrome to compliment this study, even though I and the coaches in my study are working successfully to sustainably alleviate imposter feelings. I also recommend further investigation into the relationship between personal/leadership identity and imposter feelings/syndrome, the impact of specifically the coaching relationship and investigation into systemic influences of and on individuals experiencing both feelings and syndrome. Specifically, the impact of workplace cultures. There is a PhD in there for sure, but I’m not jumping on that train (yet). I’m going to let this all settle and use all this growing knowledge to help others help themselves.
This research and final dissertation achieved 86% and contributed to my final award of Master of Arts with Distinction in Coaching. It also contributed a little something to coaching research and the coaching industry, which was very fulfilling. I appreciate it may leave you, I hope, thinking, “Tell me more” or asking, “So what? What can I do?”. What does it mean for me as a coach? What does it mean as an employer and organisation? What does it mean for me as someone who has imposter feelings or imposter syndrome?
If you’d like to chat more or have some questions, I’d be delighted to hear from you.
If you’d like to chat about how coaching with me might help you, please give me a call or drop me a note to arrange a time to chat.
If you’d like to discuss a working collaboration or the creation of a workshop / masterclass steeped in peer reviewed research, specifically for your audience, please get in touch.
gill@gillcalearycoaching.co.uk or +44 (0)7702719003.
I trust that anything you take from this, you’ll reference back to its source, either me [A] or a few of the many studies from authors I mention as detailed below.
A. Caleary, G. Coaching Imposter Syndrome: The Coach’s Perspective. Summary. Unpublished manuscript, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University 2022, taken from https://gillcalearycoaching.co.uk/
1. Feenstra, S., et al. Contextualizing the Impostor "Syndrome". Frontiers in psychology,, 2020. 11, 575024-575024 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.575024.
2. Western, S., Coaching and mentoring: A critical text. 2012: Sage.
3. Slank, S. Rethinking the Imposter Phenomenon. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 2019. 22, 205-218 DOI: 10.1007/s10677-019-09984-8.
4. McElwee, R.O. and T.J. Yurak The phenomenology of the impostor phenomenon. Individual Differences Research, 2010. 8, 184-197.
5. Zanchetta, M., et al. Overcoming the fear that haunts your success – the effectiveness of interventions for reducing the impostor phenomenon. Frontiers in psychology,, 2020. 11, 405-405 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00405.
6. Neureiter, M. and E. Traut-Mattausch Inspecting the dangers of feeling like a fake: An empirical investigation of the Impostor Phenomenon in the world of work. Frontiers in Psychology, 2016b. 7, 1445-1445 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01445.
7. Whitman, M.V. and K.K. Shanine, Revisiting the Impostor Phenomenon: How individuals cope with feelings of being in over their heads, in The Role of the Economic Crisis on Occupational Stress and Well Being, P.L. Perrewé, J.R.B. Halbesleben, and C.C. Rosen, Editors. 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited. p. 177-212 DOI: 10.1108/S1479-3555(2012)0000010009.
8. Clance, P.R., The Imposter Phenomenon: overcoming the fear that haunts your success. 1985, Atlanta, USA.: Peachtree Pub Ltd.
9. Bachkirova, T. and S. Baker, Revisiting the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling., in Handbook of coaching psychology: a guide for practitioners, S. Palmer and A. Whybrow, Editors. 2019, Routledge. p. 487-499.
10. O’Broin, A. and S. Palmer, The coaching relationship. A key role in the coaching process and outcomes., in Handbook of coaching psychology: a guide for practitioners., S. Palmer and A. Whybrow, Editors. 2019, Routledge. p. 471-486.
11. Bachkirova, T., E. Cox, and D.A. Clutterbuck, The complete handbook of coaching. 2018: Sage.