Conquering Superhuman Syndrome – Putting the Cape Down!

By Joseline Castaños

Are you driven to succeed in every aspect of your life? Do you find yourself more and more committed or over-committed at work, at home and in the community? Do you find it impossible to say no to leading a new project, mentoring a colleague, chairing a new committee or running the next bake sale? Do you feel the pressure of needing to do it all to perfection? Perhaps you are experiencing superhuman syndrome.

Superhuman syndrome has become synonymous with perfectionism. And not in a good way. Instead, perfectionism overtakes our professional and personal lives, overwhelms us and can lead to burnout. According to the Impostor Syndrome Institute, the superhuman type is part of the overarching impostor-syndrome framework. The five components include the perfectionist, the expert, the natural genius, the soloist and the superhuman. The latter seems to be a combination of them all. The superhuman must juggle many roles and do so perfectly (perfectionist) without seeking help, as it would be a sign of weakness (soloist). Things must come easy (the natural genius) because one should always know what to do (expert).

While both men and women encounter superhuman syndrome, you may have heard of superwoman syndrome as a part of impostor syndrome. According to Forbes, 75% of U.S. women executives experience this syndrome. H.R. leaders find themselves in a unique position to help their leaders and teams overcome superhuman syndrome and empower everyone in the organization to put their capes down and conquer it.

How does H.R. help us all conquer superhuman syndrome? It starts with awareness to overcome it from within. First, we must recognize if we are experiencing it. Presentations and workshops where employees can reflect and identify their feelings and behaviors can bring awareness. Then comes the work, which can be done by coaching individuals or teams through tools and techniques to overcome it. But before diving into tools and techniques, leadership must discuss this critical topic and show vulnerability and willingness to do the work to conquer it. Keeping our eyes and ears open can help us see presenteeism and absenteeism, over-committing and exhaustion among those around us as indicators that this syndrome may be driving individuals to burnout.

The Impostor Syndrome Institute encourages us to rethink and shift paradigms. We must learn to hold ourselves to realistic standards and to be okay with experiencing self-doubt. More importantly, we must embrace a healthy response to failure and see it as an opportunity to learn. With a growth mindset, we can be open to learning and growing without the cumbersome demand to be perfect and do it all. We must also empower others to do so as well. What can you delegate if you have a list of ten important things to do? Delegating will allow you to focus on your top priorities while allowing others to shine. Finding ways to recharge through movement, breathing and breaks is vital so that we are not constantly going, especially if we are prone to multitasking. 

Single-tasking may be the next goal to embrace so that we are mindful and vested enough to enjoy what we are doing without intrusive thoughts of the following ten things to be tackled. Rely on others; you are not alone and can find an accountability partner. It’s been that trusty work colleague who sees me at night on the system and says, “Joseline, why are you working this late?” We all need that partner to keep us grounded and encourage us to put the cape down. You will be glad to put it down and re-focus.