On the other side of imposter syndrome: My MBA journey and Bridges’s Three Stages of Transition

By Ryan Meachen

I had a big case of imposter syndrome when I started my MBA with the Wellington School of Business and Government two years ago. One year ago I had my last class. In two weeks I hand in my last assignment.

Here are my reflections on my experience with imposter syndrome and trying to understand it better through William Bridges's 'Three Stages of Transition'. In short: get comfortable being uncomfortable. It's part of growing. (Spoiler alert: no more imposter syndrome!)

I remember coming to the first networking event clearly. I remember noticing that I was by far one of the youngest in the class. And I remember sitting in a corner, making myself small and thinking, "I don’t belong here"—a tough job for someone who’s six foot four!

In our last course, 'Leading Change' with Associate Professor Todd Bridgman—a fantastic class and a fantastic lecturer—we looked at Bridges's 'Three Phases of Transition' as a model of understanding the psychological transition that comes with change in organisations. And I thought it was just as valuable for helping me understand my experience with imposter syndrome when I began my MBA.

Bridges says three key things that helped me reflect on my own personal journey.

Three stages of transition

First stage

“Transition... is psychological; it is a three-phase process that people go through as they internalise and come to terms with the details of a new situation.”

The three phases include:

1. “Letting go of the old ways and the old identity you had. This first phase of transition is an ending, and the time when you need to help people to deal with their losses.
2. Going through an in-between time when the old is gone but the new isn’t fully operational. We call this time the “neutral zone”: it’s when the critical psychological realignments and repatterning take place.
3. Coming out of the transition and making a new beginning. This is when people develop the new identity, experience the new energy, and discover the new sense of purpose”.

Second stage

“The neutral zone is both a dangerous and opportune place, and it is the very core of the transition process.”

My experience with imposter syndrome was a period when the “old is gone but the new isn’t fully operational”. I was stuck in the 'neutral zone', “when the critical psychological realignments and re-patterning take place”.

That neutral zone I was stuck in was uncomfortable. As anyone who has experienced imposter syndrome can probably attest to.

I doubted myself. My ability. My experience. My skills. My knowledge.

I doubted myself big time. I felt like I was going to get 'found out'. Like I didn't 'belong'. Like I wasn't 'enough'.

But, with the benefit of hindsight, I can see that this experience was a critical part of my growth.

Third stage

Thirdly and lastly, Bridges says, “if you escape prematurely from the neutral zone, you’ll not only compromise the change but also lose a great opportunity. Painful though it is, the neutral zone is the individual’s... best chance to be creative, to develop into what they need to become, and to renew themselves".

Bridges elaborates that, “you may be frightened in this no-man’s-land and try to escape... (but) to abandon the situation... is to abort the transition... and to jeopardise the change”.

Face, embrace, and chase the doubts

It’s really easy to treat imposter syndrome experiences like a threat, and to back out immediately to protect yourself. But if I did that, all I’d be doing is protecting who I was, instead of striving towards who I want to be.

I learnt lots through my MBA journey. Valuable ways of thinking about leadership, and change, and motivation. I had incredible lecturers who really inspired me—Dr Paul McDonald's Organisational Behaviour class in particular inspired me to do a PhD.

But I also learned that you’ve got to face, embrace, and chase the doubts and fears that come with putting yourself in unfamiliar environments.

Chase the imposter syndrome. It's uncomfortable. It's challenging. But it means that you might just be in the right place for your own development and growth.

Keeping it short and simple: get comfortable being uncomfortable. It's part of growing.