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“We’re Not Worthy”:!Understanding & Escaping!

Impostor Syndrome

Lori Widelitz-Cavallucci Amy Silvers !

Madison+UX 2014

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@lwcavallucci!@A_Silvers!

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“I feel like that every day.”!

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“(T)hese women find innumerable means of negating any external evidence that contradicts their belief that they are, in reality, unintelligent.”!!

—Clance & Imes, from their 1978 study

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“Impostor Phenomenon designates an internal experience of intellectual phoniness.”

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“I’m not as capable as people think I am.”!!

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Any praise and recognition leads to discounting the success.

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“My success is due to luck and nothing else.”!

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Outperform

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Avoid

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29%$

50%$

21%$

"I$can$give$the$impression$that$I'm$more$competent$than$I$really$am."$$

Does$this$statement$describe$you?$

Yes,%this%describes%me%accurately.%%This%might%describe%me%at%5mes.%No,%this%doesn't%describe%me.%

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“Sometimes, I feel like my career is an exercise in ice skating up hill: there are constantly new skills to learn, new lessons to learn, new tools to master, and there is a lot of pressure to be good at a lot of things.”

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45#

27#

25#

Have#you#ever#worried#that#people#will#stop#respec7ng#you#or#think#less#of#you#once#they#

get#to#know#you#and#see#your#work?#

Yes,%I've%worried%about%that.%

I%haven't%worried%about%that%exactly,%but%I've%felt%something%similar.%%

No,%I've%never%worried%about%that.%

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“It's a sort of continuous feeling that my education and experience aren't good enough, that I don't actually know anything more than anyone else does, and that by writing or giving talks or workshops that I'm just a fraud. And, of course, everyone will realize it soon, or they're just being too nice to point out that I don't know what I'm talking about.”

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48#

51#

46.5% 47% 47.5% 48% 48.5% 49% 49.5% 50% 50.5% 51% 51.5%

Yes#

No#

When#people#compliment#you#on#your#ability#or#performance,#do#you#ever#think#they’re#“just#

being#nice”?#

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“I don't think I am as talented as people tell me I am. I constantly doubt myself. Every year at my yearly review, I'm told I'm doing great when I think I'm doing just ok. You would think I would gain confidence and learn from this but I still constantly doubt myself.”

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“I know that I'm not, but I spend most of my professional life feeling like a complete fraud.”

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Frank Gehry

???

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“There are no information architects. There are no interaction designers. There are only, and only ever have been, user experience designers.”

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“All this talk about being a unicorn I think contributes to a feeling of inadequacy for people who aren't.”

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“There's always something new to learn that pulls you out of your comfort zone and makes you feel uneasy, but to me that's the fun of it.”

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What's the worst thing that can happen?

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Don't equate expertise with infallibility. We can

be both.

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We only see what others want us to see, including

insecurities and fears.

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Behaviors = changeable !

Attributes not changeable

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"just" !

"only"

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Get one! !

Be one!

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–Steven Ungerleider, Ph.D.

“…research shows that athletes who envision themselves performing well throughout the day

tend to have these positive visions at night!!

…reinforcing the image of success in their brains.”

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We are all in this together.!!

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

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Thanks for listening!