One reason we don’t see many confident instructional designers and trainers is that they suffer from the imposter syndrome.
To paraphrase the Wikipedia, impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual has a fear of being exposed as a fraud and doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments.
This live online learning activity (LOLA) requires the participants to decide whether or not they have this syndrome.
Before conducting this activity, it will be a good idea for you to understand this syndrome. Begin by checking out these symptoms associated with people with the imposter syndrome:
1. They believe they are fooling their bosses and clients.
2. They feel unqualified for their job.
3. They think they are frauds and phonies.
4. They attribute their successes to chance and blind luck.
5. They believe they are not worthy of the recognition they receive.
6. They ignore evidence of their talents.
7. They doubt their strengths and abilities.
8. They over-prepare, work hard, and keep tweaking their products.
Reflect on these symptoms and decide whether or not you have the imposter syndrome.
You are now ready to conduct this LOLA.
Synopsis
Briefly explain the symptoms of imposter syndrome and ask each participant to privately decide whether or not they have this psychological pattern. Ask the participants to predict the results of this survey and estimate the prevalence of imposter syndrome in the professional world.
Purpose
To understand the imposter syndrome and estimate its prevalence.
Participants
Minimum: 2
Maximum: Any number
Best: 10 to 30
Time
10 to 15 minutes
Flow
Brief the participants. Use the information given in the introductory paragraphs. Read the symptoms of the imposter syndrome.
Conduct the survey. Ask the participants to decide whether or not they have the syndrome. Ask them to send you a private Yes-or-No chat message to indicate whether they have this syndrome. Quickly count the number of Yes’s and No’s.
Ask for predictions. Ask the participants to predict (through audio or chat) what percentage of their cohorts would have answered “Yes”. Give the results of your tabulation. Continue by asking the participants to predict the percentage of professionals who have the imposter syndrome. Explain that the current data suggests this to be around 70 percent. Discuss the differences between the participants’ predictions and the “real” data.
Conduct a debriefing discussion. Use these questions to structure this discussion:
• Do you believe your colleagues suffer from this syndrome?
• As professionals gain more experience, do they lose their unjustified feelings of being a fraud?
• Do women suffer more from this syndrome than men?
Discuss techniques for getting rid of the imposter syndrome. Suggest these ideas for handling the syndrome and invite the participants for additional ideas:
1. Remember, most of your cohorts, colleagues, and managers suffer from the same impostor syndrome as you do.
2. Create a portfolio of your accomplishments, success stories, and positive feedback. Review this whenever you feel like a fraud.
3. Stop comparing yourself to experts. Start comparing your current results to past results.
4. An expert does not know everything in a field. Don’t feel uncomfortable saying, “I don’t know,” if you cannot answer a question.
5. Don’t let the differences between you and your colleagues in terms of gender, age, minority status, and personality make you feel like an imposter.