Smash Notes
Impostor Syndrome
Have you ever been scared to contribute to a conversation or publish a blog post because you were worried you weren’t qualified enough? Wondered how you got to the point you’re at in your career because you feel you don’t belong? Or that you’re a fraud? You’re not alone! In this episode, we discuss how we have experienced impostor syndrome and our personal…
Notes
-
Emma Wedekind opens Ladybug's impostor-syndrome episode by saying it gets worse as a career and a follower count grow, because thousands of people are watching. Her worst case was a Google interview. Whiteboarding data structures, algorithms, and JavaScript, next to people she saw as lead engineers, she seriously considered canceling. Ali Spittel's version came in college. She loved Python, then hit C++ as a sophomore, including a backtracking assignment in the first weeks, and pulled all-nighters for a B. The department did not look like her. She quit computer science. She now calls that impostor syndrome, and she wishes she had stayed.
-
Subconsciously, everyone can generally determine if they feel like they fit into a particular environment, such as a potential new workplace. One's subconscious lays the groundwork for what level of imposter syndrome they might feel.
-
Even if the ratio of negative to positive comments is 1 to 200, a single negative comment can destroy morale. If a particular comment comes at an angle that is different than other negative feedback that has been received previously, it can be especially upsetting.
-
Ladybug hosts say a compliment is pushed outside the self: you credit the research, or you say the code was easy to read. A negative comment is internalized and feels like a personal attack. Kelly Vaughn, then 28, is a Shopify Plus expert with a psychology degree and master's degrees in public health and social work. She advises owners of stores doing 10 to 40 million dollars a year. Five years in, she still thinks, who am I to tell you how to run your business? Lindsey Kopacz remembers a tweet on accessible tooltips. Someone she respected said she was wrong, she wanted to quit, and Cher Scarlett talked her through it.
-
The way we phrase things, especially across the internet and cultures, can have a positive or a negative impact. How we deliver feedback requires thought and is so important.
-
It does challenge individuals to be self-aware and to also keep others in mind. Imposter syndrome can be a motivator because it drives people to become better and better at their skills in an effort to build confidence.
-
Acknowledging imposter syndrome gives way to vulnerability which allows for personal growth. Vulnerability also allows for connecting with others more personally because of increased empathy and understanding.
-
On Ladybug's impostor-syndrome episode, Emma Wedekind says to keep a record of wins. Write them down, screenshot the email, and store the files in a folder you open on a bad day. Paper works too: print them and keep a binder. She has a folder she uses to remember the work was good and that the bad day will pass. Another host saves screenshots of student reviews, the feedback she cares about most, in Notion so they survive a new computer. Both say the folder is also how you ask for a raise. A promotion is rarely handed over, and you will forget the proof.
-
Emma Wedekind tells Ladybug Podcast she does not believe you fully overcome impostor syndrome. You can only shrink it. The hard part is comparison. She catches herself treating Ali Spittel's Python work as a verdict on her own. Her rule is to compare yourself with where you were yesterday. Another host started teaching herself web development around Thanksgiving 2012, on Ubuntu her dad installed beside Windows, knowing almost nothing. She can talk about that material now. Wedekind adds that the public only sees the win. She cried through the first two or three years of her career because she did not know what she was doing.
Related notes
- How Do You Handle Negative Comments on Your Blog
- Why Does Imposter Syndrome Benefit Some Harvard Students?