Impostor syndrome is a phenomenon well studied by psychologists. It is predominant among people with exceptional skills, and also very common among women. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but two factors seem very important: family dynamics and pressure to perform at work. Impostor’s syndrome can have significant consequences not only for the person suffering from it, but also for those around them. When the person suffering from imposter syndrome is in a favorable environment, he can more easily overcome his feelings and give the best of himself.
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Professionals tend to strongly resist breaking from their professions’ core cultural tenets and it is unclear how some may voluntarily break from deeply ingrained views. Through our study of French anesthesiologists who practice hypnosis, we aim to better understand this little-explored phenomenon. Adopting hypnosis, a technique that many anesthesiologists consider subjective, contradicted a core tenet of their profession: the need to only use techniques validated by rigorous scientific-based research. Drawing on interviews and observations, we analyze how these anesthesiologists were able to change their views and reinvent their work. We find that turning inward to oneself (focusing on their own direct experiences of clients) and turning outward to clients (relying on relations with clients) played critical roles in anesthesiologists’ ability to shift their views and adopt hypnosis. Through this process, these anesthesiologists embarked on a voluntary internal transformation, or reboot, whereby they profoundly reassessed their work, onboarded people in adjacent professions to accept their own reinvention, and countered isolation from their peers.
BOURMAULT Nishani - NEOMA Business School |
- Research
- Health Sector Management, Organizational Theory