What if “imposter syndrome” isn’t the problem?

A recent article published by INSEAD* asks us to reconsider a familiar narrative. For years, we’ve treated imposter syndrome as an individual issue. A matter of confidence. A mindset to fix. What if it is, at least in part, a signal? A signal about the environment. When people consistently feel hesitant to speak, reluctant to take risks, or uncertain about their place, it is worth asking not only what is happening within them, but also what is happening around them.

The concept of psychological safety, advanced by Amy Edmondson (1999), points us in this direction. Cultures that invite contribution, tolerate thoughtful risk, and respond productively to failure tend to bring out people’s voices. Others do the opposite.

From a developmental perspective, this is not surprising. Daniel J. Siegel, in The Developing Mind (2020), reminds us that development is not just an internal process. It is profoundly relational. We quite literally grow in interaction with our environments. Which raises important questions for leaders: If a workplace consistently generates insecurity, is the most effective intervention really at the level of the individual? Or is it at the level of leadership?

In my experience, this is where leadership development, and particularly coaching, becomes essential. Not as a remedial intervention, but as a way of helping leaders examine the beliefs they hold about power, performance, control, authority, and risk and how those beliefs quietly shape behaviour often in ways that inadvertently constrain others.

Culture is not an abstract concept. It is created, day by day, in how leaders respond to challenge, dissent, uncertainty, and mistakes. If those responses constrict rather than expand what is possible, no amount of individual confidence-building will compensate for it.

Perhaps the more useful question is not “How do we fix imposter syndrome?” But rather, “What are we creating that makes people feel like imposters in the first place?”

I’m curious how others are thinking about this.

*To read the INSEAD article, subscribe to The Outlook: https://lnkd.in/egxmDhM5

Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://lnkd.in/eNptuVrK

Siegel, D. J. (2020). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.