Employees who doubt their abilities often turn out to be good team players with strong social skills, new research shows.

Do you have impostor syndrome? You’re not the only one. Even many successful people seem to suffer from it. Impostor syndrome is often thought to be a debilitating problem. But new research now suggests that’s not always the case. Remarkably enough, it also turns out to have a positive side.

About Impostor Syndrome
Impostor syndrome is a term first described by psychologists and researchers in the 1970s. People with impostor syndrome are convinced that they are “impostors” and do not deserve their success. They dismiss successes as mere luck or fluke and think they are not as intelligent or capable as others think. In short, you think you can’t really do anything, but that others haven’t discovered it yet.

People with impostor syndrome can suffer from this quite a bit. “Delusional thoughts significantly reduce positive thoughts and lower self-esteem,” explains researcher Basima Tewfik. But impostor syndrome doesn’t just have to get in the way of someone, her research shows. It can also have beneficial effects.

Study

Among other things, Tewfik surveyed wealth management employees to see if and when they struggled with delusional thoughts in the workplace. In addition, she asked for evaluations of other employees. It leads to a surprising discovery. “I found a positive relationship,” Tewfik says. “Those with impostor syndrome were more likely to be referred to as social by executives.”

Advantages
The results further show that people with impostor syndrome are often good team players, with strong social skills. In addition, they are often recognized as productive workers by their employers. “People with more deceptive thoughts are more focused on others as a result of those thoughts,” Tewfik explains. “And as they become more focused on others, they will also be seen as more sociable.”

Issue

Tewfik’s study builds on an earlier study, which also showed that people who suffer from professional self-doubt are often very socially skilled. In addition, Tewfik’s research shows that the idea that the syndrome only leads to poor performance is a myth. And so, she says, the results dispel some important assumptions about impostor syndrome. “What I don’t want to achieve, however, is that people now think that impostor syndrome is not a problem,” she underlines. She therefore emphasizes that such thoughts among employees should not be ignored, rejected or even encouraged.

Not permanent

If you recognize yourself in this story, Tewfik has another positive news: the impostor syndrome does not have to be something permanent. The results of her study show that those with impostor syndrome can lose it over time. For example, people can shake it off as they become more established in their position.

Tewfik has no intention of letting go of the subject just yet. For example, she plans to investigate whether impostor syndrome is also related to creativity. She also encourages other scientists to work on this topic as well. “I hope this study sparks a broader conversation about this phenomenon,” she said. “My hope is that other scholars will also join this conversation. It is an area ripe for much future research.”