1 of 13

Ending the Imposter Syndrome Epidemic Among Women in STEM

Julie Greco

2 of 13

Preliminary Questions

  • I am good at…
    • Math
  • I am not good at…
    • Learning languages
  • If I did this more I could be good at…
    • Swimming

​

​

3 of 13

Preliminary Questions

  • Name a challenging problem you had to solve in a group?
    • Would there have been a better outcome if you were not involved?

​

  • How do you like to be managed?

​

  • What makes you angry at work or school?

​

  • Think of someone you didn’t work well with, how would they describe you?
    • Why didn’t you work well together?

​

4 of 13

Introducing your speaker

MBA Candidate in Sustainability Management

Former Stevens varsity volleyball player

Corporate Strategist and Sustainability coordination at SUEZ

Passionate about leadership development and personal growth

Survivor of Imposter Syndrome

5 of 13

Imposter Phenomenon: designates an internal experience of intellectual phoniness

If it’s not perfect the first time I don’t deserve to be here

That interview must’ve been a fluke, I am under qualified

Any second now, they will find out I am a fraud

I can’t try something different, I might fail

Feeling like a fraud

Greater effort and conscientiousness

More success & promotion

Triggering more imposter syndrome

6 of 13

How do we end the cycle?

Negative self talk

​

Fear & doubt in competence

Unrealistic standard setting

​

Perfectionism

Holding back

​

Inability to internalize success

Unwarranted Apologies

​

The gateway to self doubt

Embracing

Iteration

​

Learning to love rethinking

Developing

Self Awareness

​

To separate delusion from reality

7 of 13

Unwarranted Apologies

The Gateway to Self Doubt

​

​

The language we use is habitual, this is why it is so important:

​

​

​

Unwarranted Apologies

​

The gateway to self doubt

“I’m sorry”

“If I could jump in”

“Feel free correct me if I’m wrong”

“If you disagree just stop me”

“I was just hoping to..”

4 Steps to break a habit:

    • Awareness: Safe to say everyone overuses “I’m sorry”
    • Triggers: Specific words should become triggers (sorry, just, any preface that is seemingly apologetic or diminishing)
    • Replace: This time with conviction
    • Repeat: Continue to catch yourself until positive language becomes a habit

8 of 13

Unwarranted Apologies

The Gateway to Self Doubt

​

Disciplined language can evolve your feelings of imposter syndrome:

​

​

​

Unwarranted Apologies

​

The gateway to self doubt

Doubt

Fear

Anger

Judgmental

Defensive

Control

Stress

Being Right

Confidence

Risk Tolerant

Power

Accepting

Willingness

Ambiguity

Enthusiasm

Rethinking

9 of 13

Embracing Iteration

Learning to love rethinking

​

Place your confidence in your ability to learn,

not in what you already know

​

Unwarranted Apologies

​

The gateway to self doubt

Confidence

Competence

Imposter Syndrome

Dunning Kruger

Confident Humility

10 of 13

Embracing Iteration

Learning to love rethinking

​

How do we build an iterative mindset when

there’s so much pressure to be perfect?

​

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable!

​

Audit your

skills

Step 2

What am I good at?

​

What am I not good at?

​

What would I be good at if I applied myself?

Acknowledge your thinking is fixed

Step 1

Identify a time you didn’t try something new because you did not know if you’d be good at it

Embrace

taboo topics

Step 3

Be an efficient decision maker

​

Find opportunity in every challenge

​

Understand opposing views

11 of 13

Developing Self Awareness

To separate delusion from reality

​

Self awareness is the ability to monitor our

internal and external world.

3 Ways to develop self awareness:

    • Introspection & mindfulness: by reflecting on your reactions and interactions you will better understand where certain feelings of doubt are coming from
    • Self Assessments: There are guided self assessments you can use to track your progress
    • Feedback from managers & peers: understanding how you’re perceived by other can help ground your perception of self

12 of 13

Key Takeaways

Stop using I’m sorry in emails and before sharing your opinion

​

Language is essential to self perception

​

Word choice influences how other people perceive you

Unwarranted

Apologies

Place your confidence in your ability to learn, not what you already know

​

Doubt should come from desire to iterate, not fear

​

Perfectionism doesn’t warrant the best results, just the safest

Embracing

Iteration

Self awareness is a skill that can be developed with hard work

​

Self awareness can differentiate you from your peers and ground your self perceptions in truth

Developing

Self Awareness

Be an

Ally

Even if you haven’t experience Imposter Syndrome, you can prevent it from affecting your teams by creating inclusive environments and encouraging authentic collaboration.

13 of 13

Thank you

Questions?

​

Similar Experiences?

​

Tools?