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Impostor Syndrome in Tech

Paweł Zajączkowski

Dev Manager

xebia.com

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  • Background
  • Thinking
  • Risks
  • Mechanisms
  • Solutions

Agenda

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Background��

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What?

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  • Psychological pattern
  • Personality disfunction
  • Competence doubt
  • Constant fear

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Science

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​

  • 50 - 80%
  • Any point of career
  • High achieving
  • Intelligence
  • Perfectionism
  • Neuroticism

​

Who?

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NOT

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  • Actual fraud
  • Momentary doubt
  • Mental illness
  • Humbleness
  • Specific to women

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„I felt like there had been some mistake, that I wasn’t smart enough to be in this company, and that every time I opened my mouth I would have to prove that I wasn’t just a dumb actress.”

Natalie Portman

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  „No matter what we've done, there comes a point where you think, 'How did I get here? When are they going to discover that I am, in fact, a fraud and take everything away from me?’”

Tom Hanks

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 ”It’s almost like the better I do, the more my feeling of inadequacy actually increases, because I’m just going, ‘Any moment, someone’s going to find out I’m a total fraud, and that I don’t deserve any of what I’ve achieved,’”

Emma Watson

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Thinking��

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Success = External factors

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  • Luck
  • Circumstances
  • Deceit
  • Misjudgement
  • Connections

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…or�Overwork

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Belief�Filter

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0 and 1

0 and 1

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Tech:

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  • Smart people
  • Intangibility
  • Growth
  • Fake it till…

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Risks��

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  • Exhaustion
  • Anxiety
  • Burnout
  • Depression

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  • Balance
  • Relationships
  • Procrastination
  • Priorities
  • Change

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​

Missed

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  • Knowledge
  • Promotions
  • Raises
  • Ideas

​

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Mechanisms��

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Present�Common�Solvable

Realisations

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  • Present
  • Common
  • Solvable

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Impostor

Cycle

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Perception

of

Knowledge

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Present�Common�Solvable

Dunning-

Kruger

Effect

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Present�Common�Solvable

Spotlight�Effect

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Present�Common�Solvable

Curse of Knowledge

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Solutions��

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Impostor Syndrome in Tech· Paweł Zajączkowski

Confessions

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Present�Common�Solvable

Comparisons

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Present�Common�Solvable

Imperfections

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Present�Common�Solvable

Achievements

Tracking

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Present�Common�Solvable

Social Media

Filtering

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Present�Common�Solvable

Job Ads

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Present�Common�Solvable

Reptile Brain

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Present�Common�Solvable

Talent Trap

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Present�Common�Solvable

Recruitment

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Present�Common�Solvable

Talk

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Present�Common�Solvable

Distance

and

Vulnerability

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Present�Common�Solvable

Appreciation

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Present�Common�Solvable

Therapy

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Present�Common�Solvable

​

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Measure

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  • Clance IP Scale
  • PsychTest

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Present�Common�Solvable

​

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Questions?

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