What is Imposter Syndrome?

“Why Successful People often feel like Frauds – The Imposter Syndrome”

How can it be that so many clever, competent and capable people can feel that they are just one step away from being exposed as a complete fraud? Despite evidence that they are performing well they can still have that lurking fear that at any moment someone is going to tap them on the shoulder and say “We need to have a chat”.

Come along and hear from our internationally renowned speaker what the latest psychological research has to tell us about ‘The Imposter Syndrome’ and more importantly some strategies for dealing with it.

At the end of this session you will:

• Know what the latest psychological research tells us about the imposter syndrome is and how it operates
• Realise how widespread imposter feelings are and why highly successful people can feel like frauds
• Be aware of evidence-based strategies that reduce imposter feelings

The session will explain why high performing people often doubt their abilities and find it hard to enjoy their successes. It will also show the links to perfectionism and self-handicapping strategies such as procrastination, avoidance and over commitment.

Dr Hugh Kearns (Flinders University, Australia) has worked with thousands of high performing imposters; he is one himself and has written a book on the topic. His areas of expertise include self-management, positive psychology, work-life balance, learning and creativity.