Are you a fast learner battling with imposter syndrome?
I wanted to start this one off by sharing one of my wins.
I did a talk called Navigating Imposter Syndrome in Tech for the London.js community at the Netflix UK office to over 100 people and it went incredibly well!
Ok, now to the juicy stuff.
This one is for all of my self proclaimed fast learners and those who strive to master a skill without having to put that much effort into it.
In this edition, we are unpacking an imposter syndrome type known as "the natural genius".
This type refers to those who often are seen as being good at things on their first try or with ease.
These individuals feel unworthy, guilty and shameful if they cannot easily complete a task or achieve a goal on their first go.
In school, these were the people who didn't put that much work into studying, but managed to still get great grades and be top in their class.
When transitioning from a relatively smaller environment such as school, to a larger one like university or the workplace, they realised that their natural ability isn't unique now they are surrounded by other exceptional people.
They tend to look at professionals in their field, and wonder why they aren't there and look to speed up the process to be like that professional.
Thus, bringing feelings of imposter syndrome by dismissing their own talents (usually as a result of comparison).
I was recently battling with this kind of imposter syndrome from working closely with the tech lead on my team.
Whilst being in awe of his ability to solve problems so quickly, and be super productive, I felt like I needed to be on his level.
And with my scrapping 1 year of commercial experience, with his (at least) 7 years+, I was comparing where I did not compete and I was holding myself to unreachable standards which diminished my confidence.
Experiencing this resulted in me finding it (and sometimes still finding it) difficult to ask questions when I'm stuck, asking questions in a public setting and also challenging to share how I feel with colleagues - all in fear that they will catch on to the fact that I am an imposter!
The main thing I personally have done is to raise my awareness of how I personally experience imposter syndrome - and it has helped me to pause, acknowledge my feelings, and reach out to someone else.
It's also why I started this newsletter, because I want to help others with understanding it and methods that will genuinely help.
I'll share with you, three resources for those battling with this type of imposter syndrome in the workplace:
- See the value of being a learn-it-all: I was listening to the Squiggly Careers podcast and they said the most amazing quote I had come across:
"The learn-it-all will always do better than the know-it-all" - Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
In the episode, they explore shift from being a know it all to now the emphasis on being a learn it all. You can read up more on it here - Support from a mentor - whether this is someone within your organisation or outside, it is essential to ask questions for your learning and development.
I do also believe, the responsibility is shared between you and also your colleagues. Your more experienced colleagues also need to make an effort to reach out to you to check on how you're doing, if they can help, or even simply communicating the value of reaching out for support.
So if you're reading this, please reach out and check in on your colleagues! I'll be doing a whole separate article on this. - Cultivating a growth mindset - a concept originally coined by Carol Dweck, a growth mindset is the idea that your abilities can be developed. People with this mindset don't worry about looking smart, but instead put more effort into getting smarter by taking on challenges and seeing them through. She has done a great talk on this at Google, you can watch that here
In future editions, we will be going in depth with all of these methods.
So, are you a fast learner battling with the "natural genius" type of imposter syndrome? I'd love to know your favourite tip out of the three I gave!
Until next time,
Amber
Is imposter syndrome causing you to overwork?
I want to start off by saying a massive thank you to all of you who have subscribed to this newsletter - I cannot believe there are already over 700 of you!
It has been incredible to receive positive feedback on my first post where I speak about experiencing imposter syndrome as a woman in tech and it's given me the encouragement to keep up the momentum.
Now that’s out of the way - let’s get into things!
I’ll start by defining what imposter “syndrome” is.
Originally coined as “the imposter phenomenon” by Dr Pauline Clance (1985) from her observations in a clinical setting, there seems to be varying definitions of what it actually means.
The impostor “syndrome” refers to the notion that some individuals feel as if they ended up in esteemed roles and positions not because of their competencies, but because of some oversight or stroke of luck.
For simplicity, throughout the series of the Imposters Methods newsletter, I’ll be referring to this phenomenon as the commonly used term, imposter “syndrome”.
From Clance’s research, she observed six different characteristics of imposter syndrome and we will be covering them all in this newsletter.
In this edition, we are covering the Superwoman/man type.
This type refers to individuals often seen to be workaholics, with one of the driving forces being that they feel like an imposter so they work harder in order to feel like they measure up.
They may be ones to be working longer hours, feeling stressed when not working, sacrificing hobbies and passion to prioritise work and feeling pressured to prove their worth to colleagues.
I have certainly experienced this form of imposter syndrome. I remember when I landed an internship and I was ready, pumped, and rearing to make an impact.
On my first day, it was abundantly clear that the person I was replacing was a high performer, well known in the company and delivered results.
It was intimidating.
I felt like not only did I need to measure up to the standard he set, but also I placed all my value on my ability to deliver, so I adopted an approach that led me to work at an unsustainable rate.
I exceeded expectations, I got the results, but I also set myself to unrealistically high standards and burnt out throughout the process.
Clance found that those who saw themselves as imposters often felt overwhelmed, disappointed, and overgeneralised themselves as failures when they were unable to reach their goals.
The pressure I put on myself comes from various places, but one thing that plays in my mind was being told that I needed to work twice as hard to get half of what my white counterparts would get.
That, combined with not wanting to look like I was just a diversity hire, added to this feeling of being an imposter - even though I was known for delivering, was getting great feedback from my manager, I couldn’t help but think it was because I was overworking & due to luck.
Here are 3 bits of advice I would give myself at that period of time:
- Create your wins tracker - it can be so easy to have the wins, but then to not internalise them and pass it off as nothing. Unfortunately, because of that feeling of being an imposter, I didn’t have the confidence to ask for a salary that I felt I was worth and also felt like I hadn’t achieved enough to warrant it. But I had those wins, and a wins tracker to document all the things both big and small is a great way to start to build a case for yourself.
- Assessing a sustainable rate of working - I was working at such a pace, that I was relieved that the internship was just 3 months. I would warn myself that working at such a rate, will go from being amazing, to a new standard, and when I started to work at a “normal” level, it can be seen as underperformance (but mostly, that health is a priority - I would have cared more about being seen as underperforming though). Take the time to find a level that works for you but also means you get your tasks done in a reasonable time, you should NOT feel too burned out to enjoy your weekend - you gotta live girl!
- Not comparing where I don’t compete - I was comparing myself to those who had 5+ years of experience, and I barely had 2 months worth. I saw people eating lunch and working without taking a proper break so I thought I needed to do the same. I thought I had to be as good as my manager, but that is an unrealistic goal, I would read the room and consciously remind myself about my experience level compared to those I was working with.
- (BONUS): Remove work related things (Slack, access to emails, etc) on personal mobile phone!!!!
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE: The thing about imposter syndrome, is that it puts all the blame on the individual.
I would highly recommend reading “Stop telling women they have imposter syndrome”, the authors write that imposter syndrome puts the blame on individuals, without accounting for the historical and cultural contexts that are foundational to how it manifests in both women of colour and white women.
I’ll be getting more into this in a few issues!
So the million dollar question, is imposter syndrome causing you to overwork?
Until next time,
Amber