Clare Josa | Author And Keynote Speaker

UK's Foremost Imposter Syndrome Expert, International Keynote Speaker & 8x Author

imposter syndrome

Break The Bias? The Secret Role Of Imposter Syndrome

Soul Led Leaders

Break the bias is the theme for the 2022 International Women's Day. But how do you do it? And what about Imposter Syndrome's secret role?

This is something I've been researching for the past few years. And the 2022 Imposter Syndrome Research Study builds on what we learned with the 2019 study, adding in analysis of the impact of the pandemic.

The research has also highlighted the hidden role of Imposter Syndrome in bias.

"Why does she come to me for reassurance on each and every decision she has to make?"

"Her idea was great! Why didn't she speak up about it in the meeting?"

"I simply don't get why she didn't go for that promotion. It was perfect for her. And I even put in a good word. It's so frustrating."

Recognise any of these with your team members?

They've all got a common thread.

They're warning signs of Imposter Syndrome - the secret fear that others will 'find us out' and somehow realise we're not good enough, that we're frauds, that we don't belong.

And it's easy to imagine how such behaviours will make it harder for someone to break the bias - they stack up against them to become a secret, self-imposed glass ceiling.

I often hear experts on social media say that we shouldn't 'let' Imposter Syndrome get in our way. But that just heaps self-blame onto the shame, because that's not actually how it works.

It isn't a conscious choice. We don't 'let' Imposter Syndrome sabotage our dreams. It's an auto-pilot response.

When we've wired the body and the brain with Imposter Syndrome-supporting thoughts and fears, we're near-constantly living in the fight-flight-freeze response. The body gets flooded with adrenalin and cortisol. Everything feels like a threat; a danger.

And this means that the primal part of the brain makes our biggest decisions for us.

It processes information ever so slightly sooner than the pre-frontal cortex (where your great ideas come from). This is the reason why we jerk back from crossing a road, only to realise we narrowly avoided a car we hadn't (consciously) spotted.

So it's a really useful biological function.

When it comes to Imposter Syndrome, this part of the brain perceives threats from the outside world to do with being 'found out' or judged, and it holds us back, just as it did on the pavement.

But this time it uses things like not speaking up with our best ideas, like backing down when challenged, like not wanting to make decisions for fear of the repercussions of a mistake, like doing whatever it takes not to be visible.

This is all running at an unconscious level, which is why the classic coping strategies that flood google when you search for Imposter Syndrome advice don't work.

The coping strategies are run by the cognitive part of the brain... which doesn't get the information to kick off the coping strategies until the 'keep me safe' primal part has already started to self-sabotage.

So you're constantly playing catch-up.

It's exhausting.

It's demoralising.

It causes anxiety.

And it's one of three hidden drivers behind the Gender Pay Gap.

That's why, to break the bias we need to include supporting people to truly set themselves free from Imposter Syndrome.

Those running it describe it as crippling. They say they live in dread of being found out. They feel shame and blame themselves for not being good enough.

It doesn't have to be that way.


What Do We Really Need To Break The Bias?

Find out why Imposter Syndrome doesn't have to be like this - and how to sort it - in my masterclass on how to break the bias. You can register for your ticket here.

And here's a podcast episode I did on how to break the bias that you might find interesting, about the three pillars to break the bias:

Want to talk about how Imposter Syndrome might be impacting you as an individual, or your teams and organisation? Here's where to find out how we could work together. And for in-house work, here's where to book a call with me.

I've spent 18 years specialising in this, so that you don't have to.

Clare


How To Bring Up The Subject Of Imposter Syndrome When You Think A Colleague Might Be Struggling With It [Episode 27]

Soul Led Leaders

One of the things I'm asked most often by leaders, at the end of a keynote, is how to bring up the subject of Imposter Syndrome with a colleague or team member - and then what to do to help them.

It's so easy to freeze, or talk ourselves out of broaching it, or worry that the other person will react badly, or that we won't know what to say or do next...

... So we avoid it. And that leaves the person stuck. It perpetuates the taboo. And we feel bad, because we wanted to make a difference.

So in today's Soul Led Leaders podcast episode I'm going to share with you what you can do, mistakes to avoid, and how to find out what to do to move beyond 'tea and sympathy' if you've got it right and the person wants help.

What You'll Cover Today On How To Raise The Subject Of Imposter Syndrome:

  • Why we bottle it!
  • The risks of getting it wrong
  • The two things you must (I don't use that word lightly!) do, before you take that deep breath and leap in
  • How to start the conversation
  • The five super-common mistakes to avoid
  • And how to actually help the person to turn things around

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Essential Resources To Help With How To Bring Up The Subject Of Imposter Syndrome:


Take Action Now!

If you do one thing as a result of this episode, make it this! What one action could you take today to bring up the subject of Imposter Syndrome?

For My Organisation

What could we do to proactively remove the Imposter Syndrome taboo? What holds people back from asking for help?

For Myself

What support or training do I need to feel more comfortable raising the topic of Imposter Syndrome at work?

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Nightmare Boss? 5 Tell-Tale Signs That They’re Running Imposter Syndrome

Soul Led Leaders

A boss' behaviour can make or break a job for us. A boss who inspires and empowers us helps us to achieve things we might never have done on our own.

But one who nags and digs and even bullies? Whose office we dread being called into? Who undermines us in meetings, criticises even the way we breathe, and makes us dread Monday almost before we wake up on Sunday?

Unfortunately nightmare bosses do exist. And I'm most definitely not making excuses for them. But what if they were running Imposter Syndrome?

There's a Native American saying:

"All criticism is borne of someone else's pain."

Happy people don't go around hurting others. And twenty years of specialising in the Imposter Syndrome field have shown me how miserable it can make people, especially when they're trying to hide it and think they're the only one who feels that way.


So here are five tell-tale signs that the nightmare boss could be running Imposter Syndrome:

My 4 Ps model from the 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study helps you spot Imposter Syndrome's early warning signs. Here's how they create bully-bosses:

1. Perfectionism

A boss running perfectionism is terrified that even tiny mistakes could make people 'find out' that they're not good enough. They set their standards impossibly high and then write them off as a fluke or 'anyone could do that' if they do happen to achieve them.

But it's not enough to prevent themselves from making mistakes. 

They're so scared that mistakes made by team members could cause them (the boss) to be found out as a fraud that they can end up micro-managing; their fear of mistakes gets passed on to team members. 

This is a great way to disempower team members, creating burnout from a workaholic culture, and ironically the stress this micro-managing causes makes mistakes more likely.


2. Procrastination

Ever had a boss who made promises but never delivered? Who got distracted by the latest new idea? (Shiny Object Syndrome) Who was always too busy but never seemed to get much done?

Procrastination is a super-common coping strategy for Imposter Syndrome, as people fill their time with 'busyness' to avoid what is stressing them.

This leaves team members hanging, waiting for information they desperately need to get their own work done. And the boss is often too busy to properly support - or develop - their team.


3. Project Paralysis

 Like the rabbit in headlights, this is where we avoid a task until the deadline gives us the adrenalin rush to push on through. That goes for everything from team meetings to performance reviews to preparing for Board meetings.

A boss running this symptom of Imposter Syndrome is likely to be a nightmare to work with, as they pass this habit on down through the team. They're likely to make high-pressure, last-minute requests for work to support their deadline, changing priorities at short notice.

And sending that dreaded 8pm email insisting on having the figures or information they need by 'first thing tomorrow' is common, leaving you choosing whether to pull an all-nighter or get up with the sparrows.


4. People-Pleasing

Ever had a boss who changed your priorities after every leadership meeting they attended? Or who committed the team to taking on work that wasn't the team's responsibility? Or jumping on the latest corporate band-wagon, to be part of the in-crowd?

One of the secret fears for someone running Imposter Syndrome can be the fear that they don't belong - and that people will find this out. So taking actions that will lead them to feel liked and accepted are common.

This can impact team workloads as the people-pleasing decisions are passed on to them to action.


5. Hyper-sensitive to criticism

And there's a fifth warning sign I want to share with you today.

I describe Imposter Syndrome as being the secret fear of others judging us the way we're judging ourselves.
This makes us hyper-sensitive to criticism.

So if you've had a boss who blew up every time you gave even the teeniest hint that their idea was imperfect or gave them feedback on something, you could have hit that nerve.

Going back to that Native American saying that 'all criticism is borne of someone else's pain', someone who is constantly judging themselves and living in fear of others doing the same is in major pain.

And it's easier to project that pain outwards, towards others, than to look in the mirror and do the 'inside work' we need, to free ourselves from it.

So a nightmare boss running Imposter Syndrome can become highly critical of team members, judging them in a subconscious pre-emptive move to protect themselves. And that's a painful person to work for.

That doesn't excuse the nightmare boss' behaviour. But it might help us to realise that it's not really about us - and that the criticism they're throwing at us isn't really true.

My research shows that the onset or worsening of Imposter Syndrome can turn a rising star into a micro-managing bully boss running a now-toxic team in just a few weeks.


All of these warning signs are examples of why it's dangerous for an organisation to ignore Imposter Syndrome - to hope it will go away or that people will simply cope with it.


Why aren't we doing more about this?

Well, it starts with the Imposter Syndrome taboo. We feel shame when we're experiencing Imposter Syndrome, thinking we're the only one who doesn't have their act together, terrified at 3am that 'they' will 'find us out'.


This leaves millions struggling in silence - and their coping strategies can become destructive.


The second reason is that most people don't actually know what to do. How do you open up the conversation? How do you go beyond the 'tea and sympathy' stage to actually make a difference for people?

How do you make asking for support with Imposter Syndrome as acceptable as, say, Microsoft Excel training?

That's why I run training to help with this.

If you want to be able to support people with Imposter Syndrome on a 'first aid' basis, being able to suggest solutions that actually make a difference (and get past the worry of how they might take you raising the topic!) then my Certified Imposter Syndrome First-Aider course is ideal.

It gives you practical strategies to help people right there in the moment when they might self-sabotage, and also on a preventative basis.

Imposter Syndrome First Aider - Find Out More

And if you're running Imposter Syndrome yourself and want to do something about the negative self-talk that it gets running wild, making your biggest decisions for you, then my Inner Critic Bootcamp training shows you how to press 'pause' on all that in under sixty seconds, and how to retrain your internal dialogue to become a genuine cheerleader.

Inner Critic Bootcamp - Book Your Place


And I'd love to hear from you:

Now you know these five warning signs that a nightmare boss might be running Imposter Syndrome, how do you think teams and organisations might handle this differently? Here's where we're talking about this.

Clare


Flexible Working: Closing The Gender Pay Gap – Case Study With Zurich Insurance

Soul Led Leaders

Lack of flexible working was found in the 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study to be one of three hidden drivers of the gender pay gap. The increased out-of-hours commitment so often required in senior roles and the difficulty in fitting work around family was shown to disproportionately disadvantage women with school-aged children.

So Zurich Insurance decided to take bold action. Driven by data and a passion for diversity and inclusion, they have now succeeded in making 80% of their UK roles part time, flexi-time or job-share. And far from having a negative impact on the bottom line, they've seen astonishing results.

They're making measurable progress on closing the gender pay gap, and their employee engagement and satisfaction have increased. And all of this was during the challenges of the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown.

In this candid and action-inspiring interview, Emma Francis - Head of Diversity & Inclusion for Zurich Insurance - shares:

  • what prompted them to take action
  • how they got buy-in from the key decision-makers
  • what people's concerns or initial objections were
  • how they overcame them
  • the benefits they have seen - it's not just gender equity
  • what advice Emma would give other companies who might be considering this route

[Subtitles are available for this video. Click 'CC' in the play bar, above, if they don't automatically show.]

Prefer an audio version?

In addition to lack of flexible working, the other two driving factors in the gender pay gap and lack of gender (and BAME) equality in leadership roles were found in the 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study to be:

  1. The alpha-male culture at the most senior levels of many companies
  2. Imposter Syndrome, which affects men and women at similar levels, but they handle it very differently, in ways that disproportionately disadvantage women

The alpha-male culture and the shift to flexible working are actually the hardest place to start with closing the gender pay gap. By supporting team members to identify and then clear out Imposter Syndrome, they remove the subconscious, self-imposed glass ceiling that can prevent them from fulfilling their potential.

Here are some of the ways that Imposter Syndrome was found in the research to be holding women back from achieving equality in pay and in representation in leadership roles:

How Imposter Syndrome and the gender confidence gap affects women

Fortunately, far from the myth that Imposter Syndrome is incurable, there's plenty that people can do to set themselves free from it, in as little as the next 90 days.

Scroll down to watch the replay of a keynote I did on the role of Imposter Syndrome and the Gender Pay Gap for the London Stock Exchange Spark event. In it, I share the latest research and also practical solutions to create measurable breakthroughs, fast.

To discuss how we might work together on this, here's where to book a call.

Some Useful Resources:

Clare Josa Keynote - Imposter Syndrome And The Gender Pay Gap - London Stock Exchange

Imposter Syndrome & The Gender Pay Gap

Get instant access to the keynote session I did on this for the London Stock Exchange Spark event.


In it, I share the latest research on this topic, plus practical suggestions for solutions that are within any company's reach.

 WATCH IT NOW

2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study White Paper

Read the white paper with the key results from this landmark research study - the first of its kind in the UK. It includes essential information on how Imposter Syndrome is one of three hidden drivers in the gender pay gap, and what we can do about it, as companies and as individuals.

 download it now

Leading The Imposter Syndrome Disucssion In Your Organisation

This guide brings you the research-based background you need, plus questions you can ask in team discussions, to remove the stigma around Imposter Syndrome. Plus there are questions to ask your company's leadership team, to get their buy-in on developing the strategic framework to make Imposter Syndrome a thing of the past in your organisation.

 download it now
Ditching Imposter Syndrome

Read: Ditching Imposter Syndrome

With thousands of readers in over 30 countries in just its first year, discover for yourself why people describe Ditching Imposter Syndrome as 'life-changing' and even 'unputdownable'. It guides you, step by step, through how to turn your inner critic into your biggest cheerleader - and set yourself free from Imposter Syndrome, once and for all.

 Read it now

Work With Clare Josa On Ditching Imposter Syndrome

Stepping Up To Lead: A Ground-Breaking 90-Day Leadership Programme

Find out More

Book A Call To Talk About Working Together

Find out More

Become A Certified Imposter Syndrome Mentor

Find out More
Find out about bespoke projects
book clare to speak

The Secret Reason Why There Still Aren’t Enough Women In Leadership Roles

Soul Led Leaders

With companies struggling to close the gender pay gap and hit their goals for women in leadership roles, are we trying to fix the wrong thing?

Businesses often think it's the job of the remunerations team to create gender equity in leadership roles, but new research shows that there are three hidden factors that most firms aren't even aware off, which are holding back women from stepping up to lead.

You're heading for the next step up in your leadership journey. Logically, you know you can do it. But you wouldn't want them hearing your secret 3am self-talk...

Good old Imposter Syndrome.

One of the most common triggers for Imposter Syndrome is being asked to lead at the next level, whether that's your first leadership role or making the C-Suite Leap.

Those worries that they'll 'find out you're a fraud' or that you're 'not good enough' plague your thoughts and affect your performance. And previously dormant Imposter Syndrome becomes unignorable.

In fact, it takes a lot of effort to hide it - consuming the energy you would otherwise have put into your work and time with your loved-ones.


How Does Imposter Syndrome Affect Women In Leadership Roles?

According to the landmark Imposter Syndrome Research Study, 45% of women hadn't applied for promotions for which they were qualified, in the past year alone, due to Imposter Syndrome. The subconscious self-sabotage behaviours that come with it are also why it's one of the three hidden drivers of the Gender Pay Gap.

Why there aren't enough women in leadership roles

Another key factor the research showed was that Imposter Syndrome rates were very similar for men and for women, but that they handle it very differently, which disproportionately disadvantaged women when it came to being considered for leadership roles.

Men were more likely to bottle up Imposter Syndrome, pushing on through the fears (which often led to anxiety and mental health issues). The study showed they would put themselves forward for promotions that felt like a stretch. And, when men got that promotion, it caused Imposter Syndrome rates to decrease, because they felt the job title validated their expertise.

Proportion of research respondents who had struggled with Imposter Syndrome 'daily' or 'regularly' in the past year.

Women, on the other hand, worried more about being 'found out'. The study showed that they tend to share the credit for achievements with their team, rather than publicly 'owning' their role in it, which means that their talents are less visible to the organisation. They are more likely to wait until they feel fully ready for a promotion, ticking all of the boxes, before they apply - which often caused them to miss out on roles for which they were a great fit.

And women were more likely to leave their organisation, to apply for senior leadership roles, than to apply internally, because of the fear of it becoming public knowledge if they applied, but didn't get it. So companies are losing their best women to other firms. And even then, the promotion can cause Imposter Syndrome severity to increase for these women, because they felt like a spotlight was now on them and their performance.

The step up into the more senior levels of leadership was also a trigger for high-achieving women to leave their employer, even if they loved their job, to set up their own business as a consultant.

This is why we don't have enough women in leadership roles in most companies.

And the cost of losing these women and replacing them has been found to be up to a full year's salary, in terms of recruitment and training costs, covering their work, and missed business opportunities while their role is empty.

As boards lament that there aren't enough talented women to choose from for the most senior leadership roles, defending their failure to create equality at the top levels, we need to look at why that is.

It's not that women are less talented. It's not that women can't do these roles - they can. 

The research study showed that there are three hidden drivers behind the gender pay gap and lack of gender equity in leadership roles:

Three Hidden Drivers Of The Gender Pay Gap & Lack Of Women In Leadership Roles

1

Alpha-Male Culture

Many companies switch to an alpha-male culture at the most senior levels, where politics and competitiveness become more important than the more feminine qualities of collaboration and compassion.

2

An Out-Dated Leadership Model

Leadership roles still assume you have a wife at home. Mothers of school-aged children find themselves forced to choose between their family and their career. Avoiding extensive overtime or out-of-hours travel and events was seen as a career-limiting request.

3

Imposter Syndrome

Women were found to be more at risk than men of creating subconscious self-imposed glass ceilings, and exhibiting the self-sabotage behaviours that Imposter Syndrome triggers, reducing their chances of promotion.

The Pandemic Has Made This Situation Worse

Research in September 2020 shows that the additional juggling of home-schooling their children caused millions of women to be working double- or triple-shifts, often working until midnight, in an attempt to hide from their employer how this extra workload has been affecting them.

Even with children back at school, evening scheduled for early mornings or early evenings force women to choose between their career and their children, because childcare options are so much more limited than before.

And the alpha-male culture becomes even more pronounced, when it isn't balanced out by the chance meetings that allow people to regain their perspective by chatting with friends and colleagues.


What Is The Solution?

The alpha-male culture and unconscious bias against working mothers must be addressed, urgently, in order to create a genuinly level playing field. However, these are longer-term issues.

We will not close the gender pay gap and have enough women in leadership roles, without first addressing Imposter Syndrome and providing solutions for those who struggle with it.

And the great news is that - far from the myth that it is inevitable or incurable - there is plenty that firms can do to support their team members on this.

Indeed, you can create deep-acting breakthroughs in as little as three months.

Stepping Up To Lead - Women In Leadership

It's why I created Stepping Up To Lead: a 90-day programme that helps you to set yourself free from Imposter Syndrome, to become the leader you were born to be.

It is a unique way of turning your inner critic into a genuine cheerleader, making comfort zone 'flinches' a thing of the past, and feeling excited about stepping up into your next leadership role.

Based on twenty years of specialising in this field, Stepping Up To Lead is a blend of high-impact, online learning (all in bite-sized chunks), with fortnightly group Q&A calls for three months, and 1:1 time with me or one of my Certified Imposter Syndrome Mentors.

Students describe it as 'life-changing' and 'more powerful than I could ever have imagined'.

They're having breakthroughs in their confidence and Imposter Syndrome levels, even in their first few weeks, which would have taken six-to-twelve months with just 1:1 work. They report that this is leading to measurable changes in their behaviours and performance and productivity - as well as reducing their stress and anxiety and increasing their happiness levels.

And all of this comes at less than one tenth of the cost of six months of one-to-one mentoring, and under one twentieth of the cost of replacing a female leader if she leaves an organisation.

It makes this life-changing work affordable - and effective - for everyone in your leadership teams and your rising stars.

You can find out more about Stepping Up To Lead on an individual basis here. And if you'd like to talk about booking multiple places for your organisation, please book a call with me, below.

Book A Call With Clare Josa To Talk About Closing The Gap For Women In Leadership In Your Company

What Does It Really Take To Close The Gender Confidence Gap?

Soul Led Leaders

I came across an article this week, published in Forbes, on how to close the gender confidence gap and increase gender equity in leadership roles. The author correctly identified that Imposter Syndrome is at the root of this.

But - yet again - it's the case of a well-intentioned man completely missing the point, telling women that all we need to do to close the gender pay gap is to dress more smartly, pay attention to our grooming, adopt a confident posture, and to speak up more in meetings (with the correct tone of voice and mannerisms).

By implication, the author is telling us that women who aren't achieving their full potential are slovenly slouches, with near-zero communication skills, and no interpersonal skills, who deserve to be overlooked for promotions that men are then awarded - because men didn't need that advice.

Unfortunately, I come across articles like this every week, even in publications that should know better. And I hear it from women who have been told it by managers and mentors in the workplace.

The problem with messaging like this - especially in prominent publications or from people in authority - is that it pushes the blame for the gender pay gap back onto women. And they're already feeling enough guilt and shame, if they're struggling with Imposter Syndrome.


What The Data Tells Us About The Gender Confidence Gap

The 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study showed that Imposter Syndrome - the secret fear of being found out as 'not good enough', despite evidence that you are - runs at similar rates for men and women, but they handle it very differently.

The gender confidence gap: how do Imposter Syndrome rates vary between men and women?

52% of female respondents and 49% of male respondents said they had struggled with it 'daily' or 'regularly' in the past year - at a level that impacted their work performance, their confidence, the actions they took, and their emotional and mental health.

Yet almost all of them were experts at hiding it.

The huge difference the research found, though, was in the actions men and women took, if they had Imposter Syndrome.

In the 100+ depth interviews that went with the 2,000-person quantitative study, it was found that there were clear differences between the sexes; differences which disproportionately disadvantaged women in terms of their current role and future promotion opportunities. For example:

The Gender Confidence Gap: Men Vs Women

How men vs women respond differently when Imposter Syndrome strikes - white paper - please note that these are generalisations and there will always be exceptions

Male Respondents

  • Push on through the fear, making them five time more likely than women to turn to drugs or alcohol due to anxiety
  • Take credit for their achievements - talking about 'I'
  • Apply for a promotion if they tick most of the boxes
  • Launch a campaign to support their promotion hopes, getting a rush from the competition
  • Promotion validates their sense of worth, meaning Imposter Syndrome decreases

Female Respondents

  • Pay more attention to their emotions and can be more affected by them and to allow them to affect their decisions
  • Share the credit for achievements with their team - talking about 'we'
  • Wait until they feel ready or tick all the boxes, before going for a promotion
  • Would rather leave an employer they love to get a promotion than risk the 'shame' of public failure
  • Promotion shines a spotlight on them, increasing the severity of Imposter Syndrome

Actions Taken By Women, Caused By The Gender Confidence Gap And Imposter Syndrome:

How Imposter Syndrome and the gender confidence gap affects women
What the data tells us about the Gender Confidence Gap - and how it's getting in the way of equal pay and gender equality in the workplace.Click To Tweet

In addition, the Forbes article - and thousands like it - is suggesting that by addressing the surface-level symptoms (the clothes women wear, whether they've met the required grooming standards, whether they're cracking enough jokes in the right way in a meeting to win round the guys) that miraculously their secret 3am self-talk will shift from beating them up to being a cheerleader.

It's nonsense.

You can't clear the root cause of an issue by playing around with the behavioural effects. And this kind of advice leads to women feeling like even more of a failure, when it doesn't work for them. The article is full of the kind of advice I regularly hear from well-meaning coaches and experts, and it's why the research study showed that 'classic coaching' doesn't fix Imposter Syndrome and can even make it worse. 

It's why the vast majority of people in the research study believed that Imposter Syndrome is 'incurable' - because making changes at the 'effects' level, rather than at a 'causal' level, doesn't fix the problem.

The triggers for Imposter Syndrome run at a deeply subconscious level and we often don't realise it has reared its ugly head until our heart is already racing, our mouth has gone dry, and we can feel the adrenalin and cortisol streaming through our bloodstream.

This stress response happens without conscious thought and puts us into the 'fight-flight-freeze' mode, which diverts blood flow from the frontal cortex of the brain (responsible for answering questions brilliantly in meetings or coming up with great ideas) to the primal part, which only cares about keeping us alive until the sabre-toothed tiger has left.

That's why Imposter Syndrome can make your mind go blank in that very meeting where you're supposed to be sharing your brilliant ideas.

Imposter Syndrome also affects a person's performance and productivity - see the Four Ps Of Imposter Syndrome - perfectionism, procrastination, project paralysis, and people-pleasing.

Lockdown has made this situation worse, with research showing that women have been taking on the bulk of the extra childcare and home schooling, whilst juggling this with their normal workload.


Women are reporting that their stress levels have increased and they are worried that they will be judged as under-performing over lockdown, missing out on future promotion opportunities or even losing their job, as a result. It has hit their confidence, hard.


The Three Hidden Triggers Of The Gender Pay Gap

The research study showed that there are three hidden factors in the gender pay gap and lack of gender equality in leadership roles, but that these aren't being addressed by the majority of companies:


Three Hidden Triggers Of The Gender Pay Gap

1. The Alpha-Male Culture In The C-Suite

There comes a point in too many companies where heart-based, feminine-style leadership is no longer valued, and women are required to change how they lead to fit in with the competitive, alpha-male C-Suite culture. What made these women great managers and leaders is no longer valued. Women feel they don't belong in that culture.

2. Lack Of Flexible Working

Too many women are being forced to choose between their career and their family. Asking for flexible working - even ad hoc for a school play - is often seen as a sign of a lack of commitment and causes them to be judged as not ambitious enough to gain senior level promotions. And many women's childcare commitments mean they simply cannot take on the additional working hours and travel that more senior roles demand.

3. Imposter Syndrome

Imposter Syndrome disproportionately disadvantages women, because men and women handle it differently. This is what creates what we perceive as the gender confidence gap. It causes women to subconsciously sabotage career opportunities and prevents them from reaching their full potential.

To Close The Gender Confidence Gap - And The Gender Equality Gap - We Need To Create A Genuine Level Playing Field

Instead of 'blaming' women for the gender confidence gap - and implicitly the gender equality gap - we need to focus our energy on creating a genuinely level playing field. I wrote recently about why we don't need equality, but instead with need equity, to achieve this.

This means looking at a company's culture, traditions, rules and attitudes, to see whether any of them are unintentionally disadvantaging women.

And there's no shame or blame in this. A recent UN study found that 90% of men - and a shocking 90% of women - hold unconscious gender bias against women.

Then we need to have leadership development programmes in place that proactively support people to clear out Imposter Syndrome - to close the gender confidence gap - so that everyone has the same opportunity to thrive.

And we need HR teams and managers to have training in how to spot and how to support people who are struggling with Imposter Syndrome. It's something that people work hard to hide, but there are behavioural 'tells' that can give you hints that action is needed.

Clare Josa

Too many companies and industries still have ingrained gender bias in their culture, where women are expected to behave in a certain way, in order to reach the most senior roles. And this means those companies are missing out on the best minds in their business, as these women leave to work somewhere that they can really be themselves.


Or we have the tragedy of those women 'shutting down' and conforming, no longer being all of who they really are, in order to feel that they fit in and have the same opportunities as their male colleagues.


How Can We Support Women To Close The Gender Confidence Gap?

The author of the Forbes article that rattled my cage today says: "I wish there were definitive steps to build self-confidence and self-esteem, but I don’t think they exist." That's from the CEO of a Leadership Development firm.

I've got news for him - they absolutely do!

Ditching Imposter Syndrome

In fact, I published a book about exactly how to do this - Ditching Imposter Syndrome - and it already has readers in over thirty countries. It's step by step how-to that has been helping both women and men to finally set themselves free from Imposter Syndrome.

And the book was based on over fifteen years of helping high-achievers to do exactly that - to clear away the self-imposed glass-ceilings that they didn't even realise were there, so they could lead with confidence, clarity and passion.

As leaders, each of us has a responsibility to look both at how we can clear our own inner blocks, and also help others to do so.

I'm curious: what action could you take in the next 24 hours to make progress on closing the gender confidence gap, to create a genuinely level playing field in your company, so that everyone has the same opportunity to thrive and shine?

Want to talk about solutions? Book a call with me:

Book A Call With Clare Josa


Essential Resources To Close The Gender Confidence Gap: