Is your imposter syndrome costing you money?

Published on 27th September, 2022 at 04:29 pm

Self-doubt in the form of imposter syndrome can hold you back from reaching your financial potential. Find out how, plus ways to prevent this, with these expert insights.

Reading time: 3 minutes

In this article you’ll learn:

• What imposter syndrome is, including signs you may have it.
• How imposter syndrome can spill over into your career and financial success.
• The importance of negotiation.

“Imposter syndrome is defined as doubting one’s abilities and feeling like a fraud. It disproportionately affects high-achieving people, who find it difficult to accept their accomplishments,” explain Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey, authors of Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome. Unable to accept their success, those living with this syndrome often attribute their accomplishments to luck, good timing, generosity or even error in another party’s judgement.

What imposter syndrome looks like

Jo’burg clinical psychologist Sinqobile Elevia Aderinoye says that it can be caused by many factors such as early family dynamics (high levels of conflict in the home with little support, or parents having high expectations and greatly valuing achievements) or one’s personality make-up (eg low self-efficacy, perfectionism and anxiety disorders).

According to Sinqobile, characteristics of the syndrome include:

• The inability to realistically assess your competence and skills, often attributing your success to something external
• Looking down on or berating your own performance
• Overachievement or self-sabotage
• Setting almost impossible goals and being disappointed when you don’t meet them

Why self-worth is important

Having a healthy self-esteem means that you know you deserve respect and support. Most people struggle with their sense of self-worth at some point, and this could have financial implications on various areas of life.

The impact on career progress

Those who doubt their worth avoid actively seeking out promotions, and tend to fly under the radar.

“Imposter syndrome can lead people to downplay successes, question their salary and even avoid promotions,” says Dr Jo Gee, as quoted on Refinery29. They could also not seek out new jobs because they don’t think they deserve them and don’t believe they are qualified for more responsibility.

The impact on earning potential

Asking for an increase can be an awkward conversation anyway, and self-doubt can exacerbate this. Imposter syndrome also leads people to think that they don’t deserve their salary, preventing them from having difficult discussions about a raise. If they apply for a new job, “they might also shy away from asking for a better package despite deserving the income,” says Pinnacle BlueStar financial planner Jyoti Gopee.

The impact on your budget

Gopee notes that someone with imposter syndrome could be:

• Less likely to ask or look for discounts or negotiate regular expenses.
• More likely to pay higher short-term insurance premiums than necessary, and avoid asking for short-term premium reviews and discounts.

As a Sanlam Reality member, you can use tools and calculators in the Wealth Sense portal to help you calculate the value of your valuables and find out whether you are over- or under-insuring them.

The importance of negotiation

When you downplay your self-worth and settle for less, you affect your ability to claim value in negotiations.

This is why, if you find your daily lived experience showing signs of imposter syndrome, it’s recommended to seek the help of a qualified professional to help you become more aware of the reality of your situation versus the perception you have created.

Need to speak to someone about challenges you’re facing? As a Reality Club, Core, Plus or Health member, you have access to a counselling benefit, 24/7.