There’s been various articles written on the phenomenon of Imposter Syndrome, such as this one by Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey called “Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome” and this one by our colleague Esther Saehyun Lee, titled “You’re not feeling imposter syndrome, you are an imposter: Identity and belonging in nonprofit work.”
I’m glad to see the pushback against the concept of Imposter Syndrome, since it often places the burdens on individuals who are often already marginalized to examine themselves and change their behavior, instead of forcing systems to stop being so inequitable.
All that said, over the past couple of decades of doing this work, one pattern I’ve noticed among people in the nonprofit sector is that we’re often full of self-doubt. Even the most brilliant people I know are always stressed out about whether their work is good enough, or if they are qualified to apply for so-and-so job. Heck, even just last week, as I was finishing up my book, I felt a wave of self-doubt washing over me, and I could hear my 12-year-old’s words when he read a novel assigned for his language arts class: “Daddy, this book is mid.”
We need to control this. It’s one thing if we’re just talking about an ED position that people may falsely feel they’re not qualified for, but right now, our sector and world face relentless coordinated attacks. We just don’t have time to spend second-guessing ourselves. It feeds all sorts of bad things, such as learned helplessness, stunted imagination, and toxic intellectualizing, none of which are helpful as we try to save democracy and fight fascism.
Seriously, the past few months should have put an end to all imposter syndrome forever. Look at who’s in charge right now. Some of the most awful people in existence, whose incompetence is only matched by their corruption. We have a president who has been convicted of 34 felonies, has multiple bankruptcies, been impeached twice, who can barely read or string a sentence together. Surrounding him are some of the most profoundly inept people to ever hold public office.
And yet we’re doubting ourselves? I am 100% confident anyone reading this post right now would be a better President or VP or Secretary of Health or State or Education or literally any other cabinet position than the people we currently have.
I wrote earlier about the Dunning-Kruger Effect, which is encapsulated by this Bertrand Russell quote: “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.”
We have seen this play out to horrifying effects over the past few years and recent months. The “fools and fanatics” who revel in cruelty and chaos don’t ever stop to think that maybe they’re not qualified to hold so much power over the rest of the world. The administration does not care that most of its actions are inane, illegal, or destructive. These people have no shame nor doubt nor hesitation. They fully believe in their own merits and lines of thinking despite the plethora of evidence otherwise, on a host of issues including transgender healthcare, climate change, social security, immigration, tariffs, reproductive rights, and so on.
Meanwhile, on the progressive side, even with all the data available, we are still often hesitant and tentative. We are still defensive about DEI despite all evidence on its importance and effectiveness. We still allow for bothsiding, letting people with archaic and destructive perspectives a seat at our tables.
A couple of weeks ago I laid out the blueprint for funders for saving democracy. I didn’t pull those suggestions out randomly; they’re based on decades of research done by academics on what conservatives have done so successfully, and what progressives should be doing that would counter it. Within a few days at least one major industry leader cast doubt on these strategies, dismissing them as some sort of daydream not based on reality.
So not only is our imposter syndrome affecting us personally, it’s affecting our entire sector. How do we organize and mobilize over the next few years? If we’re going to be effective in pushing back the surging tides of injustice, we need to not just stop doubting ourselves but go even further. We need to be more arrogant, cause more trouble, act before things are fully vetted, and embrace failure, even spectacular failure. We need to develop these habits, both personally and collectively.
So apply for that job. Create that policy your board might not approve. Pitch that article. Run for public office. Write that book or play or one-person show. You’re not an imposter. Not only because the concept is nonsensical. But also because the most powerful positions in the world are held not by people who achieved them through merit, but through nepotism, corruption, and alignment with vile and hateful ideologies. They are in fact some of the most underqualified and inept people the world has ever seen. They just don’t doubt themselves; and look where it’s gotten them and our world.
We always joke that we should think like a mediocre white man. We should go further and think like a mediocre white male bigot. If it helps, remember that no matter what you do, in whatever area you choose, even if you fail, you are still BY FAR more qualified to be President of the United States than the current guy.
