IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Have you ever suffered from Imposter Syndrome?
I have. Often.
Imposter Syndrome is typically defined as feeling like a phony, a fraud, that you’re not good enough, that others know much more than you do.
No, I don’t feel like this all the time … but I definitely feel like this sometimes. But you know what? I don’t think it’s necessarily such a bad thing.
I know I know some things – but I also know that what I know is microscopically small compared with what I don’t know.
Have you heard of the Dunning-Kruger Effect?
The Dunning-Kruger Effect states that people with the smallest amount of training and experience think they’re much better than they actually are ... “Little do they know how little they know.” It seems that with great ignorance comes great confidence.
In my experience, there are 3 types of people:
1) those who think they’re better than they really are
2) those who under-estimate their own worth and value
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3) the rest
Most people fall into either group 1 or group 2.
So which is better? To be over-confident or under-confident?
Certainly, there’s a thin line between confidence and arrogance. Arrogant people are usually reluctant to ask for help as it threatens their inflated ego, their feeling of superiority. “Confidence smiles. Arrogance smirks”.
But at the other end of the spectrum, those permanently filled with self-doubt struggle to make decisions, to lead.
Where do you fall on the over / under confident scale?
Well, your gender may play a part. Overall, women tend to err towards self-deprecation and men tend to err towards over-confidence. In studies, Columbia Business School found that men, on average, rate their performance to be 30% better than it is.
Your culture can also have an influence. Eastern cultures are more likely to value self-improvement, while Western culture prefers self-esteem.
I think humility is where self-doubt and confidence intersect. Humility keeps our ego in check and balances reality and perspective. We learn that we aren’t nearly as great or as terrible as we think we are. Humility is the sweet spot between over-confidence and self-doubt.
What do you think? (I’m not sure what I think ??)
Airline Pilot / Line Training Captain
1 年Great, And a the good team leader is aware of the picture of "reality", saying what WE know! Very nice, thank you!
Superpower: Empowering Diverse Work Teams with Skills for Navigating Cross-cultural Conversations Increasing Productivity, Innovation and Profit.
1 年??Great article Paul Stevens! I appreciate how you point out where we land on this spectrum of arrogance to self-depreciation often depends on our place in the #culture. With #culturalintelligence we can challenge the bias, show ourselves a bit of #compassion and discover the #humility to hold our arrogance and/or self-depreciation in check. Great read!
CC295 Kingfisher FWSAR Person Responsible for Assignment of Authority w/ PAL Aerospace
1 年I didn't know that my occasional bouts of stress or anxiety had another name... ?? I find, like you and to that which some of your commenters have alluded, that re-educating myself, re-reading regulations, asking mentors/regulators and senior contractors for input, and basically getting back out above our self-imposed imposter syndrome level. Great article, thanks.
CEO @ Mayflower College | English Language, Aviation
1 年I like what Michelle Obama said about imposter syndrome: "I have been at probably every powerful table that you can think of, I have worked at nonprofits, I have been at foundations, I have worked in corporations, served on corporate boards, I have been at G-summits, I have sat in at the U.N.: They are not that smart."
Compliance Monitoring Manager w Royal-Star/ Air Ops/ Part-145 Auditor w Aero-Masters
1 年Really accurate article.