0 the feeling that your achievements are not real or that you do not deserve praise or success:
Students from working-class backgrounds often suffer from impostor syndrome, a deep-seated sense that the world of high culture is not for them.
Impostor syndrome is the frequent feeling of not deserving one's success, and of being of a failure despite a sustained record of achievements.
And the tragedy of impostor syndrome is that lack of confidence deters all-star employees from negotiating for high raises or promotions, a phenomenon called downshifting.
A few months ago a male manager in his late 20s contacted me after hearing me talk about the impostor syndrome.