For people who want regular personal or professional development advice from a qualified executive coach.
Imposter Syndrome: Maybe It's Not You?
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You would be amazed how many of the brilliant people I coach secretly admit that they feel like an imposter. This isn't a surprise. It's something called the Expert Trap (or Metacognitive Awareness). The more you know about a complex subject, the more you realise it is, well, complex. Which means you are more aware how hard it is to understand, which makes you realise you don't know it all. Whereas, someone looking in from the outside sees none of the nuance, so they underestimate how much there is to know. Ignorance is bliss and all that. But let's say you did feel like you had some mastery over your work. You did have experience and knowledge and competence. But now you are feeling like you don't. In situations like this, it might well be that the system (or environment) has changed, rather than you have become less able. But you feel it more like a beginner and you question yourself. If this happens, the instinct is right. You are recognising signals that the way you work isn't working. But the job to be done is to understand what has changed in the system, not what has changed in you. Have a great day, Stephen -- If you’re curious whether coaching could help you find more clarity or direction, book a free 15-minute Clarity Call and we’ll explore it together. If you want help to think about where problems might be arising in your organisation, try my Complexity Pressure Check. For anything else, hit reply. I answer every email personally. |
HeRO Chronicles
For people who want regular personal or professional development advice from a qualified executive coach.
I heard something shocking last week. Since Microsoft launched Office 365, they have been able to gather statistics on when people use the different software tools. What they have discovered is that, more and more, tools like Excel & Word are being used on a weekend. Whereas Teams is used during the week. In other words, people are spending so much time in meetings, dealing with chat messages and managing their inboxes during the working week, that they have to do anything that looks like...
You should be steady, not certain. That’s your job, as a leader. Anyone who works in a complex environment cannot bring everything under control. If you run a production line, to a certain extent, with the right investment and attention, you can bring that under control. You will still need to monitor it, so you can spot when a belt is getting tired or a printer needs replacing. And you still can’t have absolute certainty it will work tomorrow as it did today. The roof might leak, a forklift...
You're in a meeting and everyone is talking, but you feel as though they are holding back. It has become performative, rather than honest. Do you recognise that? I've seen it lots of times. Often you spot it when you realise there are lots of urgent conversations in the corridor after the meeting. And you don't know why people didn't speak in the meeting. It probably is a sign that people are uncertain. That they are trying to read signs to know what they ought to do, say or think, but those...