Slides from the February 2016 meeting of the Guelph Evaluation Cafe. We discuss what imposter syndrome is, how it can contribute to undermining your abilities as an evaluator, and ways to recognize and deal with this phenomenon. We also look at how this phenomenon relates to the Canadian Evaluation Society competencies for practice and we’ll have a few professionals speak about their personal experience and how they faced down the imposter.

1. Own Your Success
and
Dump That Imposter!
February 25, 2016

2. Agenda
• What is imposter syndrome?
• How can it impact our work as evaluators?
 Scenarios
• Does it matter?
 Competencies for Canadian Evaluation Practice
• What can we do about it?
 Discussion
 Tools, resources, further reading
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3. What is imposter syndrome?
• Definition
• How imposter syndrome can
manifest
• Examples from evaluators
3

4. Definition
4
A collection of feelings
of inadequacy that
persist even in the face
of information that
indicates that the
opposite is true.
A psychological phenomenon that stops people from
internalizing their accomplishments – often to such an
extent that they will attribute their success entirely to
luck, circumstances or simple hard work rather than to
genuine ability.

5. What are the signs?
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Experienced internally as feelings…
• Discomfort / anxiousness when people praise you,
acknowledge your accomplishments
• You feel you don’t deserve to be recognized
• Chronic self-doubt
• You feel you are not really successful, competent
• Others are more skilled / knowledgeable

6. Common feelings / thoughts…
6
"I feel like a
fake.""My
colleagues
are going to
find out I
don't really
belong here.”
“Human
resources
made a
mistake
hiring me."

7. The important qualifier…
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Your have objective evidence that you
are succeeding:
• Top marks in your class
• Good performance reviews
• Strong promotion history
…and yet you feel like you are faking it
and at any moment you will be
revealed as a fraud / an imposter

8. General categories
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• Feeling like a fake - belief that you do not deserve
success or your professional position
• Fear of being found out, exposed, discovered, unmasked
• Attributing success to luck
• Reasoning that luck or other external factors are the
cause of your success
• Downplaying / discounting success
• Belittling your achievements and disbelieving the praise
offered by others

9. One size does not fit all…
9
Not everyone experiences the
syndrome the same way.
You may identify with some
imposter feelings and
situations but not others.

10. The good news is…
you’re not alone!
10
• About 70% of people studied experience the
syndrome at one point or another in their lives
• High achievers are most likely to suffer the most
from the syndrome
• Men and women experience the syndrome
differently…
• Women tend to work harder to prove
themselves
• Men tend to avoid situations where their
weaknesses can be exposed

11. People from all walks of life / all
professions experience the syndrome
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Dr. Margaret Chan
Director General WHO

12. Contributing factors…
12
• Some research indicates that parental
overprotection or lack of parental care / support
can result in a greater likelihood of developing the
syndrome
• Having non-supportive friends can also contribute
to the syndrome surfacing
• Teachers and coaches can also be an influencing
factor

13. The link between imposter
syndrome and success…
13
What I think other
people know
• Imposter feelings relate to
an inability to internalize
past and current success
• Tendency to over internalize
failure
• Feelings of pressure not to
fail and fear of being ‘found
out’ lead to inability to enjoy
/ internalize success
What I
know

14. Why It Matters
• Potential impacts on our work
• Ultimately impacts our communities
/ stakeholders
• Competencies for Canadian
Evaluation Practice
14

15. Competencies for Canadian
Evaluators
• Able to speak truth to power
• Clarify that data are not negotiable
• Ensure criteria for interpretation of
findings are carefully described
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16. Competencies for Canadian
Evaluators
• Provide advice (initiatives,
monitoring, programs, etc.)
• Mentor colleagues
• Share/present knowledge
16

17. Competencies for Canadian
Evaluators
• Cultivate a disposition that reflects
self-confidence, equilibrium and
poise
• Non-defensive acceptance of
feedback
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18. Competencies for Canadian
Evaluators
• Accurately assess extent/type of
knowledge needed
• Recognize competency limits and
engage others when exceeded
• Assess the degree of fit between the
context and the evaluator’s expertise
• Select teams that extend the
evaluator’s personal credibility
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19. What We Can Do About It
• Group discussion:
• Have you faced the imposter? Context
and impact? Result?
• What has worked for you? Tools,
strategies, etc.
• Tips for different contexts – academic,
internal evaluators, evaluation
consultants
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20. What We Can Do About It
• Self-reflection
• Feedback – peers, supervisors,
clients, etc.
• Informal professional/peer support
• Communities of practice
• Mentoring
• CES professional mentoring?
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21. Self reflection exercises…
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• Own your success
• Accept that you have had a major role in your successes – you
contributed to where you are… you said ‘yes’ when you could
have said ‘no’.
• Record / document the nice things that people say
about you – revisit the list as needed.
• Understand your value - record your achievements –
your personal victory list – revisit the list as needed.
• Combat negative self-talk… don’t substitute one
criticism with another (e.g. I will not criticize myself
anymore), change the topic and shift your focus to one
of your strengths / successes

22. Self reflection exercises cont…
• Stop comparing yourself to other ‘successful’ people –
respect you own experience and achievements – define
your own notion of success.
• Speak up, vocalize “It’s Impostor Syndrome” – face
down the imposter by naming it.
• Remind yourself that no one bats a thousand –
everyone strikes out at some point, being wrong does
not make you a failure or fraud.
• Speak to what you know, not what you think or imagine
others expect you to know – avoid bulls**ting and
admit it when you don’t have the answer, but you can
find it.
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23. Thoughts? Further action?
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24. Next Time at Evaluation Café!
• Toward Common Ground is a collaborative
project with 13 local organizations partnering
to strengthen the way they collaborate; plan;
gather, use and share local data and
information; understand and talk about our
community’s needs; seize opportunities to take
strategic collective action and understand
collective impact. At our next session you will
have an opportunity to learn more about TCG
and to share your thoughts and ideas on the
project.
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