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Today, in 5 Minutes or Less, you’ll Learn 👏

• A case study in Imposter Syndrom drawn from my life

• What I’d tell my younger 'inadequate’ self today

Full Disclosure

Have you ever felt like a fraud as a creative leader? I have! Over the years, working at companies including Apple, Facebook, and Yahoo!, I experienced the feeling that I wasn’t good enough and that it was only a matter of time before my boss realized I was a fraud. And I’m not alone.

Did you Know?

According to the Journal of Behavioral Science, 70% of people in the U.S. have experienced imposter syndrome. At the world’s tech giants, including Apple, Facebook, and Uber, over 58% of employees, from new hires to those with ten years of work experience, reported symptoms of Imposter Syndrome.  

It’s a Shock, I know 😲 So what do you do?

Imagine This - Case Study

Ten years into my career working in tech, I experienced symptoms of imposter syndrome. Every day, I had to give a one-minute update on the progress of the products designed by the teams I led to the executive team. 

I was desperate to do justice to their work, but I didn’t know how to confidently deliver the daily update in language that would impress the leaders on the call. 

I felt sick, wanting to throw up on the ladies' restroom trashcan for fear of misrepresenting my team and failing to win over executive support for my function.

The problem as I saw it, I had a fundamentally different understanding of how measurable progress is defined for design than my counterparts in sales, marketing, and business development had for their business functions.

My ex-boss at Apple had told me what it was like giving updates to Steve Jobs, “You say too little; he thinks you’re stupid; you say too much, he thinks you’re stupid.” 

That’s how I felt each morning. Stupid. 

Back then, I didn’t know how to quantify the value of our work in contributing to the business's bottom line. Our design process was qualitative, customer-centric, and iterative. Executive updates were quantitative, target, and acquisition-driven to drive predictable quarterly revenue for shareholders.

About Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome affects both men and women and is common among high achievers who tend toward perfectionism. It's not a medical disorder but rather an internalized dialogue that makes people feel like they aren't good enough.

Imposter Syndrome Can Happen to Anyone.

The comedian and former S.N.L. actress Tina Fey said, “The beauty of the impostor syndrome is that you vacillate between extreme egomania and a complete feeling of: ‘I’m a fraud! Oh God, they’re onto me! I’m a fraud!’“ 

Businessman and former Starbucks C.E.O. Howard Schultz has revealed feelings of inadequacy and unwarranted praise throughout his career. In an interview with The New York Times, Schultz said, “Very few people, whether you’ve been in that job before or not, get into the seat and believe today that they are now qualified to be the C.E.O. They won’t tell you that, but it’s true.”

Have you had an imposter syndrome experience?

Hindsight is 20/20

With 18 years of hindsight, engaging a leadership coach, and learning about brain science, I would go back in time and tell my former self these things:-

Accept “I Had the Right” to Feel Like a Fraud

Being on that call meant I was breaking a professional glass ceiling. I was the junior leader on the call, the only woman, the only immigrant, and had no shared network or educational background in common with the execs.

It was only natural that I wouldn’t feel comfortable on this call. Why did I recognize my self-doubt as a sign of my failings rather than a normal response to being an outsider? Duh!

Separate “My” Feelings from the Facts

I wish someone had pointed out my loss of perspective on this whole situation and helped me to separate my intensely defensive and negative feelings from the facts.

I felt stupid for not knowing what to say on the calls - did it mean I was stupid? No! But is that what I believed at the time - Yes. 

Break “My” Silence

I felt isolated and hid my shame about feeling inadequate on these calls from everyone. I wish I had broken my silence and shared my feelings with a mentor or coach, but I spiraled and became unhappy.

Write Me a New Script

Everyone who starts something new is going to feel off-base in the beginning. I need to have a healthy response to my failure and to keep going despite the self-doubt and fear.

I needed to accept I may have yet to learn all the answers and have a realistic standard of competence, to trust that I was the representative for the design function and intelligent enough to figure out how to communicate effectively.

Reach Out and Build Alliances

The prospect of building rapport with the business people on the daily standup call was too daunting. But as Katie Dill, Head of Design at Stripe, said, "You can't sit around waiting for that invitation; you need to reach across the table."

Today, I wouldn’t hesitate to try and establish a personal connection over coffee and ask each of them:

• What would you like to know about my team and me?

• What is the best way to share information with you?

• What is the best response when a problem arises between our teams or us?

I didn’t do this because I didn’t want to look weak in their eyes. Instead, I sucked up the stress of being an imposter, became unhappy, withdrawn, isolated, and left the company six months later.

The Short Of It Is

If you feel like an imposter, know that feelings are the last to change, and the only way to stop feeling like an impostor is to stop thinking like an impostor.

That’s it for this week!

Any topics you’d like to see me cover in the future? Just shoot me a D.M. or an email.

With ❤️ from Sally

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