Imposter Syndrome

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SUMMARY

• Impostor syndrome is a common problem faced by many high-achieving individuals, particularly in the instructional design field, where self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud often persist despite their accomplishments. The feelings of impostor syndrome stem from a tendency to attribute success to external factors rather than their own competence and the belief that others are just as skilled. These feelings can have a negative impact on job performance and career satisfaction. 

•  The main cause of impostor syndrome is thinking that others are just as skilled as you are and feeling like you don't deserve your success. It can be especially prevalent in creative fields like instructional design where there's no right answer.

•  A survey conducted among eLearning and instructional design beginners showed that impostor syndrome is prevalent in the field. Many well-known figures have also talked about their experience with impostor syndrome such as Albert Einstein, Maya Angelou, and Meryl Streep, have also experienced impostor syndrome and that it is common in all walks of life.

   

   Here are 7 steps to cope with impostor syndrome:

  1. Talk about it with others who understand and share experiences
  2. Separate feelings from fact and recognize that they can be easily confused
  3. Reward yourself for taking initiative and forgive yourself when things don't go as planned.
  4. See failure as an opportunity for growth and improvement.
  5. Seek help, mentorship and support from experienced individuals
  6. Visualize success, embrace the learning curve
  7. Fake it till you make it, reframe negative self-talk and act like one.    

• Joining a support group like the eLearning and instructional design for beginners mastermind can help you find others who are experiencing the same thing and provide you with the guidance and support you need to overcome impostor syndrome.

•  To summarize, these are the seven strategies to handle impostor syndrome and boost your confidence as an instructional designer. Now that you are more informed about what impostor syndrome entails, its root causes, and the common challenges faced by instructional designers, you should know that you are not the only one facing these feelings. Many accomplished instructional designers have gone through the same thing. It's time to take action and put these seven steps into practice to conquer impostor syndrome and achieve success in instructional design.

   

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

TRANSCRIPT

Alright, so now I'm going to talk about another huge issue that beginners in the field often face. Do these thoughts sound familiar to you? I only got the job because I got lucky. I'm a fraud. Well, they find out I don't know what I'm doing. If so, you may be dealing with impostor syndrome, and you are in good company. I've been there. I get it. I understand. 

Imposter syndrome. This term describes how high achieving people fail to recognize their success and or accomplishments, and have persistent self doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud. They struggle with attributing their performance to their competence, and often attribute success to luck or other outside factors. No matter what you call it. Imposter syndrome is real and present in the instructional design world. It's not a disease or abnormality, but can have a harmful impact on your performance and satisfaction and your career and eventually even cause burnout.

 So after deciding to make the transition from teacher to instructional designer, and as someone who is relatively new to the world of instructional design I felt impostor syndrome quite often, especially when interviewing for a new job. It was difficult to talk about my skills and accomplishments in an interview without feeling like a complete fraud. With 10 years of experience in my education at the time, my confidence should have been higher but years later, after starting the eLearning and instructional design for beginners mastermind, I decided to find out how many others felt the same.

So I conducted a survey asking hundreds of eLearning and instructional design for beginners mastermind members and 1000s of followers about their experience with imposter syndrome. The results proved that imposter syndrome is alive and running rampant in the instructional design world. Some of the things that I discovered is imposter syndrome with learning the tech such as storyline, Captivate, Camtasia, Canberra, etc. impostor syndrome with understanding that in jargon, like the ADDIE model, SME, ISD, LNP, or LMS impostor syndrome with confidence and creating and designing content, impostor syndrome, when you see others succeed when you know you should be winning, too.

So where does impostor syndrome come from? Elizabeth Cox and her TED Ed talk says that people who are highly skilled or accomplished tend to think that others are just as skilled, which can grow into a feeling that they don't deserve their success over others. Hence, the presence of imposter syndrome. Elizabeth Cox also discusses the term pluralistic ignorance which says that we doubt ourselves, but we feel like we are the only ones who feel that way. This mainly happens because no one else voices their doubt. After viewing the results from my followers, it was clear that instructional designers generally feel a sense of imposter syndrome at some point in their career, especially in the beginning. In fact, impostor syndrome is seen in all walks of life, and has been present for decades, if not centuries.

Albert Einstein, Maya Angelou and Meryl Streep are just a few well known success stories that have been vocal about their experience of feeling like an imposter. So you feel like an impostor? What's next? Join the eLearning and instructional design for beginners mastermind and talk about it with others who understand obviously there are many other people who feel the same way. And it seems the best way to help combat these feelings is to share them. What is causing you to be feeling like an impostor because you're feeling alone? You don't have the guidance and support that you need. It's way easier to combat these hurdles with others who have been there and who are also mentoring you and by your side. 

If you're just starting out as a new instructional designer, chances are you're feeling some kind of impostor syndrome. Beginning any new career is scary. And there's always a learning curve. But it can be especially nerve racking for those in creative fields where there's no real right answer to anything. 

So now I'm going to talk with you about seven steps to coping with impostor syndrome so that you feel more confident in becoming successful and instructional design.

Number one, Talk about it.

People who experience impostor syndrome often think they're alone with the feeling. But once you open up to people who understand who are also in your shoes, just starting out in instructional design, you'll find that many more people experience it to make a post in the eLearning and instructional design for beginners mentorship and support forums and allow other members to bolster your self confidence, then be available to do the same for them when they need it. Because there will be times that they needed to. 

Number two, Separate feelings from fact.

You may feel incompetent, but you are not unintelligent. You may feel inexperienced, but you do have the experience that every other beginner had starting out. Separate what you're feeling from what is fact and recognize that one often follows the other and both can easily be confused, especially when we don't take the time to speak or think clearly. 

Number three, Reward yourself for starting out.

Usually perfectionism or the general drive to succeed is a good thing. Pat yourself on the back for taking the initiative to learn something new and change careers. That's a huge step. Forgive yourself when things don't turn out like you planned and reward yourself for trying in the first place. Take time to reflect on your major goals and recognize what you've already accomplished and reward yourself for a job well done. 

Number four, Recognize failure as an opportunity.

Henry Ford once said failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. Stop seeing failure as a setback and instead see it like a slingshot. You have to be pulled back as far as you can go before being propelled forward. 

Number five, Ask for help.

If you've been living your life with a perfectionist mindset, like I should always know the answer or never asked for help. It's time to get rid of that type of thinking. Give yourself permission to be wrong, to have a break and to seek help from others. Instead of saying, Oh no, I don't know how to do this. Try saying I'm still new to this. I may not know the answer right now, but I will. 

Number six, Visualize success.

Professional public speakers and athletes use this tactic all the time. Whatever the task, project or goal you're working towards, from succeeding in your current project to getting your first paid job. Take a moment to close your eyes and really visualize what successful look and feel like then manifest that reality. 

Number seven, Fake it till you make it.

This phrase gets repeated so often because it works. And most successful people have had to do this at one point, or 100 points in their career. Don't wait until you're 100% confident or ready to take a risk and get serious about your career and instructional design. Because that day will never come. The more you act like the instructional designer you want to become the quicker you'll get there. 

So that's all that I have for you today. Those are my seven steps to coping with impostor syndrome, so that you feel more confident in becoming a successful instructional designer. Now you have a better understanding of what imposter syndrome is, what causes it, and the most common impostor syndrome battles that most instructional designers face. Remember, you're not alone. Many of the best have felt feelings of impostor syndrome.

So now it's time for you to go out there. Follow those seven steps and overcome impostor syndrome so that you can finally succeed in instructional design.