Relationship of Perfectionism with Impostor Phenomenon: A Study on Managers

Abstract

Among high achieving managers there is a continuous struggle for perfectionist tendencies, which may be influenced by their own imposter feelings. Perfectionism can be defined as putting pressure on oneself to meet high standards which then powerfully influence the way one thinks about himself. Impostor phenomenon can be defined as person’s chronic feelings of inadequacy in spite of repeated success (Clance & Imes, 1978). Here, persons are unusual in that they seem to have low opinions of themselves, yet they are still highly competitive and ambitious. The purpose of the current research was to determine the role of perfectionism in impostor phenomenon among managers working in Multinational Companies (MNC). It also aimed to study the gender differences between perfectionism and impostor phenomenon in the sample under study. This research investigated 35 male and 35 female individuals taken from the population of 157 professional managers from various MNC’s. The instruments used in the research were Multidimensional Perfectionism by Frost (1990) and Clance’s Impostor Phenomenon Scale (1985). Correlation and t-test were used for analyzing the data collected. Obtained results showed that there was a significant correlation between perfectionism and impostor phenomenon on ‘concern over mistakes’ and ‘doubt about actions’ components of perfectionism, but failed to present on other components of perfectionism. Male managers were significantly higher than the female managers on perfectionism and on the other hand female managers were significantly higher than their male counterparts on impostor phenomenon. Psychological implications of these findings are discussed in the present study.