How to be a Google Innovator when you are definitely an imposter who they let in by mistake.
Disclaimer: This is a tale of one girl, her imposter syndrome, and her journey through the best PD in the world. It is slightly tongue-in-cheek, so if that’s not your thing please exit through the door on the left.
So in 2018 I returned to teaching. I had been out of the country, and out of the sector, for five years, so I began to do some research into the best professional development opportunities available to teachers, and the internet quickly told me that the Google Innovator was what I was looking for.
So, in 2018 I applied, twice, and was rejected, twice.
Fast forward to 2019, and the first cohort is announced as #SYD19. Sydney. As in just across the ditch. Perfect I thought. So I prepared my application and the all-important pitch video, submitted woefully close to the deadline and prepared myself for a third rejection.
The applications are turned around quickly, so it was a little over a week later when this email arrived in my inbox.
I immediately took a screenshot and posted it to Twitter — not because I was excited so much as I knew that some of the decision makers and I followed each other and they would see the mistake. I then went to sleep (it was close to midnight) and prepared myself to wake up to an email saying they had made a mistake and, in fact, I hadn’t been accepted. Of course, that email never came.
So I booked my flights, I attended the welcome webinar and, on May 1 I turned up to the Google Sydney offices. They had a name badge with my name on it, I was assigned to a group, and the organisers were familiar with (and excited) about my challenge. I posted excitedly to Twitter ‘this is really real!’).
So if, like me, you find yourself in an Innovator Academy (or another scenario) where the imposter syndrome is in full force, here are a couple of tips I’ve picked up.
- Talk About It
Imposter Syndrome is, in essence, a mental health issue. Like telling someone living with depression to ‘cheer up’, telling someone with Imposter Syndrome to ‘fake it til they make it’ doesn’t tend to help.
What can help is talking about your experiences, acknowledging how you are feeling, and knowing that others feel the same way. It was so great to see coaches, specialists, and participants all acknowledging how they feel.
2. Remember that everyone experiences it.
This relates to point 1, but it's important to remember that EVERYONE — from CEOs to elite sportspeople — feel like they are an imposter, just waiting to be found out. If you don’t believe that everyone has experienced this from time to time see Mark Wagner’s statistical analysis below :)
3. If it was a mistake — lucky me!
I’m not sure how healthy this last tip is, but it works for me. Let's say your brain, like mine, won't let you accept you have Imposter Syndrome. It’s not a feeling — you are an actual imposter. There is, of course, a chance that I was accepted into the Innovator programme in error, and they just decided to not revoke the invite. Even if that is the case — well, lucky me! After all lots of things in life turn out to be ‘happy accidents’. So if you ever find yourself somewhere you are definitely an imposter who they let in by mistake just enjoy it and make the most of the experience anyway :)
You can find out more about the Certified Innovator Programme, how to apply and the cohort locations for 2019 here. If you are applying and want some encouragement, advice etc you can reach me on Twitter at @ellebutlerEDU.
Til next time,
Laura.
PS: For your enjoyment here are some photos of what it looks like to be an imposter at the best PD ever when you start to realise you might sort of, kind of, belong. I’ll be writing some blogs about the Academy experience and my project sometime in the coming weeks.
