Foley Mental Health Month Program Unmasks Imposter Syndrome in the Legal Profession

Foley & Lardner welcomed Kendra Brodin, founder and CEO of EsquireWell, on May 28 for a firmwide virtual presentation titled Unmasking Imposter Syndrome and Self-Doubt in the Legal Profession. With a master’s degree in social work, a law degree, and nearly 20 years of experience in legal professional development and well-being, Brodin provides education, strategic guidance, coaching, and online learning tools to help legal professionals be happier, healthier, and more successful.

This highly interactive program, presented as part of Foley’s Mental Health Month activities, featured a discussion of the science behind feelings of imposter syndrome and practical strategies to move through these feelings when they occur. A lively Q&A throughout the program enabled the attorneys, business professionals, and summer associates who attended to anonymously share their experiences with imposter syndrome and see that they are not alone.

“We think we are one of the only ones feeling this way and everyone else out there is completely put together and never doubting themselves,” Brodin said. In reality, “a pervasive feeling of self-doubt, insecurity, and incompetence despite evidence that you are skilled and successful” tends to be more prevalent among high achievers (like lawyers and legal business professionals).

And imposter syndrome is not a “one-and-done”, Brodin explained, but can surface any time you are stretching yourself with a new job, task, or challenge.

“My goal is to normalize those feelings and give you some strategies to move through them when they happen,” she said.

If we don’t address imposter syndrome, it can cause low self-esteem, hold us back from career growth and creativity, and lead to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

To ground the discussion, Brodin shared an overview of the science and psychology behind imposter syndrome, its symptoms and potential mental health impacts, and the five types of “imposters” — Soloist, Perfectionist, Expert, Natural Genius, and Superhero — asking attendees to answer the question “which type are you?” 

The heart of Brodin’s program featured 10 strategies to overcome feelings of imposter syndrome when they arise and shift to a growth mindset. These include look for evidence that you deserve to be where you are, stop comparing yourself to others, give yourself some credit for your accomplishments, build self-compassion, and know that you are not alone.

“We actually do our best work with a bit of stress,” she said. “If we can reframe imposter syndrome as a normal fear of doing something new rather than failure, we can use these feelings to improve our performance and move toward growth, learning, and success.”

Best Self, Foley’s well-being initiative, works to cultivate an environment that promotes health, wellbeing, and professional satisfaction and empower our people to practice strategic self-care in four main areas: body, mind, connections, and career.