From Imposter Syndrome to Pioneer Syndrome
I work with a lot of high achievers, both from my previous life in tech companies as well as my current coaching clients. I also work with many women and people of color. Imposter syndrome is a familiar concept to many of us.
Imposter syndrome is described on wikipedia as:
a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”.
Valerie Young in The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It highlights a familiar internal monologue:
It’s only because they like me. I was in the right place at the right time. I just work harder than the others. I don’t deserve this. It’s just a matter of time before I am found out. Someone must have made a terrible mistake.
When I worked at Facebook, I was surrounded by unbelievably smart people, all world-class experts in their specialities. My first 90 days was a disaster. Everyone I met in my first 2 weeks intimidated me. I knew nothing about how Facebook advertising worked. It felt unbelievably complicated to learn about a product and the culture of a giant corporation. My ideas and suggestions were terrible. Everyone else, from the data scientist to…
