UPDATE: wow, never thought this post would take off this much! thanks
In: Other
Example: “Maybe I shouldn’t answer this question, because I don’t think I’m really qualified to answer it.”
People sometimes feel, for whatever reason, like they do not merit the position they hold or are not qualified to do what they are supposed to be doing. It can become a fairly crippling problem that leads to all kinds of avoidance strategies so that you “don’t give it away” and get fired.
Sometimes this is for good reason, because the person in question has indeed been promoted too far, or has indeed begun to lead or perform activities that they really are not qualified to do. Then they are indeed an impostor masquerading as someone who is qualified to do it – for example, someone pretending to be a doctor, or pretending to be a police officer, or pretending to be a qualified and insured contractor for a given area of expertise. However, people doing this deliberately probably do not have “impostor syndrome”, because they know that they are masquerading or pretending in order to get the work or in order to do whatever it is they are trying to do.
Sometimes it is for no good reason, and it’s just a feeling and a fear that develops over time, when someone is perfectly well qualified to hold that role, or perfectly able to do the job in question. Getting some therapy for this would probably be a very healthy thing to do, before it develops and becomes more crippling!
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