Impostor syndrome is quite popular in the tech industry.
People around you seem to be super experts, while you feel like you don't know anything and someone will eventually find out.
I've been there, I'm there right now. In particular in the recent year, since I also started writing articles and publishing videos, colleagues and friends keep asking me questions on things I speak about (mostly git and GitHub features).
That's ok, I like to help whenever I can! Also, most of the time I know the answer and when I don't it's easy to say "Cool, I don't know that, but I'll be happy to figure it out together", but this still feels weird.
I don't really feel like I'm an expert, but when I get asked questions in the fields I'm supposed to know, I feel some pressure as if I must know the answer or if I'm a fraud.
An Impostor.
A few days ago I found out about "Professional Impostor" and the Impostor Manifesto, an idea from Kyle Simpson (getify).
The goal is to rethink the term impostor as a positive one, to define someone who keeps learning and improving.
"There are no experts, we’re just at various different stages of figuring this out."
You can find all the details on impostor.ly, along with the talk (46 minutes) where Kyle presented it, the slides, a definition of Professional Impostor and the Impostor Manifesto.
Let me share it here:
- As empirical-leaning pragmatists, we rely more on what we can observe and do, than on the orthodox doctrines of the discipline.
- We're not afraid to lean into doing, and learn from that doing, so we can do better the next time.
- We are quick to admit: "I don't know... yet!"
- We don't wait to get involved until we've gathered expertise or garnered accolades.
- We're passionately curious, always asking "How?" and "Why?"
- We cycle between doing and learning and back again.
- We honor what's come before, but we eagerly look for opportunities to do it better the next time.
- We respect all our peers as valued equals with infinite capacity, and we seek to inspire and build off their enthusiasm to expand our own.
- We spread this inclusive and proactive I'MPOSTOR message, inviting everyone we encounter to collaborate in that better future.
I really LOVED this manifesto, in particular the fourth point "We don't wait to get involved until we've gathered expertise or garnered accolades". I feel I'm not doing this at all, I'm often scared of jumping into something new just because I feel like I don't know enough about it... hence, I never start.
I highly recommend you to listen carefully to the talk, it's really inspiring and it's a great way to rethink the impostor syndrome.
However, if you don't have 46 minutes available now (you better find them at some point) you can listen to me talking about the manifesto for 8 minutes in the video below.
Thanks for reading this article, I hope you found it interesting!
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Top comments (12)
This manifesto is great but it is not an imposter manifesto though.
An imposter manifesto would tell you how to do an epic imposture like selling the Eiffel Tower or a New York bridge.
What you have is a "Great Learner Manifesto"
The first guy to sign this manifesto was a Rust developer from Ancient Greece called Socrates and he puts it this way
(*) not exactly true, he was great at asking questions and on ethical issues.
MLT
Imposter syndrome on the other hand is about an inner voice that belittles you all the time
The Real Imposter is The Inner Judge - On Imposter Symdrome
Jean-Michel Fayard 🇫🇷🇩🇪🇬🇧🇪🇸🇨🇴 ・ May 22
I think the "mismatching" connection with the term Impostor is intentional here.
If you feel like you're an impostor, you should try to shift the focus to the mentioned points in the manifesto so that instead of being a fraud, you're openly someone who's learning which is more than ok, it's great :D
Yes we agree
Always glad to see things like this continue to be a discussion out there in public to help those quietly wondering if they should say anything. I can never decide if I feel like an imposter or just having a self-doubt day. Either way, I like spinning it to a positive and saying I'm always curious and always learning whilst wanting to stand up and help.
Yes! That's exactly about that! :D
If we can try to shift the focus from impostor to learner, it's way better to live with :)
Welcome to the family.
Thank you 😂
that's kinda sus...
I was unsure if put somewhere a reference to Among Us, is it still a thing? 😅
ඞ
How did you add that "Author Box" at the end of the article Leonardo? Is it because you are part of an Org?
No, you can also do that :)