Seasonal WIS
BANISHING THE ‘IMPOSTER’University of Warwick
Women in Science Network
8th December 2014
AGENDA
What is imposter syndrome?
Signs of imposter syndrome
Banishing it
Close
Lunch
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
WHAT IS IMPOSTER SYNDROME?
“Even though they are often very successful by
external standards, they feel their success has been
due to some mysterious fluke or luck or great
effort; they are afraid their achievements are due
to “breaks” and not the result of their own ability
and competence. They are also pretty certain that,
unless they go to gargantuan efforts to do so,
success can not be repeated. They are afraid that
next time, I will blow it.”
Dr. Pauline Rose Clance
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
SUCCESS IS DUE TO…
Luck
Being in the right place at the right time
Knowing the right people
the task
The contribution of others
Low expectations
A mistake
Charm and the ability to relate well to others
Effort
Their ability being overestimated
…any more?
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
AS OPPOSED TO…
Skill
Ability
Intelligence
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
WHICH LEADS TO…
Holding back
Over working
Giving up
Procrastination
Taking criticism too personally
Qualifying contributions
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
SIGNS OF IMPOSTER SYNDROME
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
SIGNS OF IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Self-doubt
Sense of incompetence
Comparing yourself to others
Low self-esteem
Fear
Stress
Under-performance
Difficulty accepting praise/compliments
Inability to enjoy your accomplishments
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER FROM IMPOSTER SYNDROME IF YOU ARE …
new to your role
the ‘bright one’
the ‘sensitive one’
a minority in your field
a perfectionist
an introvert
a high achiever
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
SHARING OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
Discussion
What are your
experiences of
Imposter Syndrome?
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
TALK ABOUT YOURSELF Exercise
“So, what do
you do?”
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
EXERCISE
Talk about yourself…
Who you are
What you do/have done
Why you do it/why you love it
Include at least one of…
Your accomplishments
Your skills
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
VOLUNTEERS Talk to the wider group
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
FEEDBACK & DISCUSSION
Any comments for the presenters?
How did it feel to talk about yourself?
How did you feel about others talking about themselves?
What did you notice about the language used?
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
BANISH THE IMPOSTER Tips to banish the imposter
when it rears it’s ugly head
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
TIPS TO HELP BANISH THE IMPOSTER
Recognise the ‘imposter’
Talk about the ‘imposter’
Watch your language!
Learn to accept a compliment
Ask questions
Challenge the criticism
Recognise your accomplishments
Remember you are AWESOME!
…any others?
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
RECOGNISE THE SUPERHERO Homework!
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
USEFUL LINKS Impostor phenomenon
http://www.paulineroseclance.com/impostor_phenomenon.html
Overcome the Imposter Syndrome, Dr. Valarie Youngwww.impostorsyndrome.com
The Language Power of Female Leadership, Dr. Judith Baxterhttp://www.inpowerwomen.com/language-power-of-female-leadership/
Women: Enough With The Apologies!http://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2013/02/26/women-enough-with-the-apologies/
Do you have imposter syndrome?http://thehairpin.com/2014/11/one-big-question-do-you-have-impostor-syndrome
Why I’m Glad I Was Forced to Braghttps://medium.com/female-entrepreneurs-of-the-world/why-im-glad-i-was-forced-to-brag-253e6d7bd10a
The Ada Initiativehttp://adainitiative.org/
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, Denise Paoluccihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZg9rax-ky4
15 Minute Writing Exercise Closes The Gender Gap In Physicshttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/25/15-minute-writing-exercise-closes-the-gender-gap-in-university-level-physics/#.VHc9bDGsUYm
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
Seasonal WIS
JOIN THE CONVERSATION…[email protected]
@WarwickWIS
Thank you…
We welcome your feedback, comments and ideas for
future events. Or why not get involved?
All the best,
Carolyn, Nicola & Claire
University of Warwick Women in Science Network
www.Warwick.ac.uk/WomenInScience
WRITING VALUES
This 15 minute exercise was developed by Leigh Honeywell from the Ada Initiative to tackle stereotype threat and imposter syndrome.
https://github.com/hypatia/virtuoso
This exercise has been used successfully in classrooms to reduce the achievement gap between minority students and their peers; black students in American high schools and female PhD physics students at the University of Colorado.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/25/15-minute-writing-exercise-closes-the-gender-gap-in-university-level-physics/#.VHc9bDGsUYm
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
EXERCISE 1
Accomplishment Accountability Achievement Activism Adventure Affection Ambition Autonomy
Challenge Close relationships Commitment Community Compassion Competence Competition
Confidence Conformity Control Coolness under fire Cooperation Courage Creativity Credibility
Decisiveness Economic security Effectiveness Efficiency Enthusiasm Environmentalism Excellence
Excitement Fairness Faith Fame Free time Freedom Friendships Growth Having a family Health
Helping other people Helping society Honesty Hospitality Independence Influence Inner harmony
Insight Inspiration Integrity Intellectual status Introspection Justice Knowledge Leadership Location
Loyalty Meaningful work Mentorship Merit Money Movement Music Nature Openness Order
Patriotism Peace Persistence Personal development Physical challenge Pleasure Power and authority
Privacy Public service Purity Quality Recognition Reputation Responsibility Romance Security Self-
knowledge Self-reliance Self-respect Serenity Sophistication Spirituality Stability Status Tranquillity
Truth Vibrancy Volunteering Wealth Will-power Wisdom
When you think of the times in your life where you’ve been the happiest, the proudest,
or the most satisfied, which of the following values come to mind?
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
EXERCISE 2
Pick one value from the previous exercise and write a couple of sentences about why it is important to you
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
EXERCISE 3
In general, I try to live up to the values that I chose in the previous two exercises:
Disagree 1 ----- 2 ----- 3 ----- 4 ----- 5 Agree
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE
EXERCISE 4
What was the last topic that someone asked for your advice on?
SLIDES BY CLAIRE WHITE, WARWICK WOMEN IN SCIENCE