Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Philip O. Pendley

Second Advisor

Jonathan Greenberg

Third Advisor

Bendta Friesen

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how Black male educational leaders experience and cope with Impostor Syndrome (IS) as defined by Zorn’s (2005) nine elements—anxiety, lack of self-confidence, depression, perfectionism, procrastination, self-presentation, emotional exhaustion, fear of failure, and fear of success, within their organizational, social, and cultural contexts. Methodology: Guided by Moustakas’s (1994) phenomenological approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and reflective journals from Black male leaders in K–12 educational settings in the Boston region. Purposeful sampling (Patton, 2014) ensured participants had significant leadership experience. Data were thematically coded, aligned with Zorn’s nine elements, and refined through reflexivity, member checking, and peer debriefing to enhance trustworthiness (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

Findings: Five interrelated findings emerged. (1) Racialized visibility required constant emotional regulation, intensifying anxiety and self-presentation pressures. (2) Internalized pressure to overperform revealed perfectionism, situational procrastination, and chronic exhaustion as rational responses to systemic inequities. (3) Emotional labor and boundary erosion underscored the toll of cultural taxation and invisible responsibilities tied to race. (4) Faith and authenticity functioned as protective factors, anchoring resilience and identity affirmation. (5) Relational accountability reframed fear of success as communal responsibility, with leaders carrying the weight of representation for future generations. A nuanced layer highlighted the distinct experiences of Afro-Caribbean participants, whose “in-between” racial and cultural positioning demanded heightened vigilance and code-switching.

Conclusions: Three central conclusions were drawn. First, the IS for Black male leaders is best understood as a structural condition rooted in institutional inequities rather than an individual deficit. Second, while coping strategies such as faith, authenticity, and community support sustained resilience, they provided only temporary relief and could not dismantle systemic conditions. Third, achievement was experienced not as personal liberation but communal stewardship, reframing Zorn’s (2005) “fear of success” as collective accountability.

Recommendations: For practice, institutions must move beyond celebrating resilience to addressing the systemic inequities that create impostor dynamics. Leadership development should integrate culturally responsive and servant leadership practices, mentorship structures tailored for Black men, and mental health supports that validate lived realities. For policy, districts and higher education institutions must confront racialized hiring, evaluation, and workload norms that reproduce cultural taxation. For research, future studies should explore intersectional dimensions of IS across diasporic identities and extend longitudinally to examine leadership sustainability.

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