When performance pressures rise, it can pay to be a little “delulu” at work, says Basima Tewfik, a professor at MIT Sloan Business School who studies imposter thoughts, commonly known as impostor syndrome, or the belief that others overestimate your competence.
In a new study, Tewfik finds that when saddled with a heavy workload, imposter thoughts can actually be a superpower. Workers with imposter thoughts rose to the occasion when overloaded with work, Tewfiq’s research found, accomplishing more than peers without imposter thoughts while staving off burnout.
When most people feel overloaded on the job, their motivation starts to lag and they disengage, Tewfik says. Imposter thoughts, meanwhile, make workers believe others expect more out of them—even when they themselves don’t believe they can handle their workload—giving them the motivation to work harder and prove others right.
“Workplace imposter thoughts make you a little ‘delulu,’” she says, using a Gen Z slang term for the word delusional, “and it works to your advantage.”
Charter spoke with Tewfik about the study, what it means for individuals experiencing imposter thoughts, and actions leaders can take to minimize negative effects. Here are excerpts from our conversation:
How did you test the effect of imposter thoughts on how workers handle role overload?
I went out into the field with a firm in India that does legal outsourcing. Employees who had more frequent imposter thoughts dialed up the effort as the load increased, but if you had less frequent imposter thoughts, you did the exact opposite. You dialed it down.
That actually makes a lot of sense. If [you don’t have many imposter thoughts], you’re looking at the work and you respond, ‘Yeah, no go. There’s too much to do and too little time. I’m not even going to try.’ In some respects, workplace imposter thoughts make you a little ‘delulu.’ You’re a little delusional.
The second study was an immersive experiment. We wanted some of the people to think others overestimate them. They all participated in this really hard IQ test. We told some of them that they were in the 91st percentile and others that they were just above average. We also made some people believe they had too much to do in too little time, but didn’t with the others. For example, we had a progress bar that just didn’t move for some and one that moved for others. In reality, everybody had the exact same number of [tasks] and the exact same amount of time.
The people who were induced to have imposter thoughts attempted more and got more right. The people who experienced less frequent imposter thoughts and high [sense of] overload decreased [their] effort exactly like we expected.
The ones who had a lot to do and had imposter thoughts said things like, ‘I felt like it was a challenge,’ or, ‘This was kind of fun after a while.’ The ones who had too much to do and weren’t induced to have imposter thoughts were like, ‘This was such a drag. I was bored out of my mind. I wanted to get out.’
What are the practical takeaways for managers?
This doesn’t mean you should overload your employees. What it does mean is a change in how we view imposter thoughts. The reality is, especially with changing workplaces, more and more of us are going to feel like we have too much to do in too little time. In the moment, if you know your employee is someone who’s experiencing these thoughts, it’s important to help [the worker] navigate the emotional burden that comes with them, but also realize it can be a superpower.
What about for individuals?
Don’t get rid of [imposter thoughts], but manage them and understand when they’re giving you the edge versus when they’re not. Try to think about why [you think] people overestimate you. Often, the signals you are getting from others are just compliments. Keeping a journal of your wins and the things you have excelled at can be really helpful.
The world we’re in is very complicated and increasingly tumultuous. I’m starting to wonder if it’s a little good to be ‘delulu’ in some sense, especially when there are no downsides [for] other people.
Have you come across ways that workplaces can be designed—or that leaders can lead —so that imposter thoughts don’t make people feel like they don’t belong?
This is something we’re currently working on. I don’t have the data behind it [yet], but my hypothesis is, make sure that workplaces are psychologically safe so that you’re not terrified all the time. If I mess up, it’s okay. The second thing is [when workers have too much] evaluation apprehension. If you’re in a really competitive workplace where everybody’s staring you down and monitoring your performance, that’s what transforms it into the fear of, ‘I don’t belong here,’ because you’re just constantly feeling evaluated.
Read our Q&A with Tewfik about her earlier research, which found that those who experience imposter thoughts are seen as more interpersonally effective than—and just as competent as— their peers.