Impostor Syndrome Has Its Advantages

Basima A. Tewfik, an assistant professor at MIT Sloan, ran two field studies and two experiments examining employees who have “impostor syndrome”—commonly thought of as the feeling of being inadequate and a fraud despite a reputation for success at work. She discovered that these individuals adopted a more other-focused orientation in their social interactions. As a result they were rated as more interpersonally effective. The conclusion: Impostor syndrome has its advantages.