The Dangers of Feeling Like a Fake (reprint)

In many walks of life - and business is no exception - there are high achievers who believe that they are complete fakes. To the outside observer, these individuals appear to be remarkably accomplished; often they are extremely successful leaders with staggering lists of achievements. These neurotic impostors - as psychologists call them - are not guilty of false humility. The sense of being a fraud is the flip side of giftedness and causes a great many talented, hardworking, and capable leaders to believe that they don’t deserve their success. “Bluffing” their way through life (as they see it), they are haunted by the constant fear of exposure. With every success, they think, “I was lucky this time, fooling everyone, but will my luck hold? When will people discover that I’m not up to the job?” In his career as a management professor, consultant, leadership coach, and psychoanalyst, the author, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, has found neurotic impostors at all levels of organizations. In this article, the author explores the subject of neurotic imposture and outlines its classic symptoms: fear of failure, fear of success, perfectionism, procrastination, and workaholism. He then describes how perfectionist overachievers can damage their careers, their colleagues’ morale, and the bottom line by allowing anxiety to trigger self-handicapping behavior and cripple the very organizations they’re trying so hard to please. Finally, the author offers advice on how to limit the incidence of neurotic imposture and mitigate its damage through discreet vigilance, appropriate intervention, and constructive support.