Imposter Syndrome

A Case Study

Client Background

  • Global Healthcare

  • Newly promoted to Senior Vice President

  • Anxiety about how to deliver in an even more senior role and whether he was ‘good enough’

  • 25 years successfully working for the same company

  • Additional challenge of company being ‘spun off’ to a new organisation where he was less known

 

Coaching Experience

  • Three-way contract with his line manager and myself as to the goals to be achieved

  • Purpose to enhance his impact as a leader

  • Completed psychological assessment to understand leadership strengths and development areas compared to peer population

  • Needed to understand where Imposter Syndrome was rooted. Explored childhood to pinpoint critical experiences that had affected how client saw himself

  • Spent time looking at the impact his Imposter Syndrome might have on others. This was powerful as the client had never viewed it in this way; had always seen it as something that affected him

  • Spent time looking at impact of interactions and how he could behave different moving forwards. Refections of behaviour in coaching can be powerful to help coachee choose a different path in future scenarios

Imposter Syndrome Coaching Outcomes

  1. Behaviours have changed, in particular towards how client treats himself . This is key for a sufferer of Imposter Syndrome

  2. Recognises the signs of old behaviour when under pressure and adapts behaviour accordingly

  3. Is more challenging of his direct reports- it’s okay to stretch people and they won’t think badly of you

  4. Being more active in his meetings- his ideas are valid, wanted, and needing to be heard