A Nerd Girls presentation

The Imposter Syndrome

The Imposter Syndrome

Jennifer stevensonSr digital advisor

Microsoft digital advisory Services

Gabriella Davis

Credit & acknowledgement

Original content and presentation by Gabriella Davis, Technical Director of The Turtle Partnership, was delivered @ IBM’s CONNECT 2017 IN SAN FRANCISCO, CA.

Gabriella is a co-founder of the nerd girls group. Nerd Girls is made up of women in technology-related

fields, who CAME Together after recognising the small number of women attendees at technical conferences,

to provide support and encouragement to women across the technical

conference-going community. The group focuses on inspirational topics that

promote empowerment, personal development and mentorship.

Gabriella Davis has more than 20 years of global experience within the

collaborative and social technology space and is a recognised social

software expert. In 2016 Gabriella had the distinction of being one of the first recipients of IBM’s Lifetime Champion award for social business.

Gabriella’s current portfolio of expertise includes - design, development,

deployment and administration of collaborative and social infrastructures,

single sign-on solutions, Security and privacy strategies, and the secure

utilisation of IoT technologies.

JENNIFER STEVENSON

Jennifer Stevenson has over 20 years of international experience focused on the enhancement of the human

experience through the purposeful and intelligent use of intuitive, immersive and inclusive technologies.

Jennifer is currently a Senior Digital Advisor with Microsoft’s Digital Advisory Services, where she focuses

on helping Microsoft’s Retail & Consumer Goods customers evolve their digital Retail Experience strategies.

Jennifer actively promotes the importance and relevance of building a Connected Consumer Experience that

delivers end-to-end value, to both retailer and consumer.

Jennifer is a frequent speaker on the topics of: Women in Technology, the

Evolution of the Enterprise Architect, the Power of Mentorship, Creating

Compelling Digital Stories, Collaborative Empowerment, Collective Knowledge,

the Connected Experience, Cultural Change Management, the Future of Work and

successful Digital Business Transformations. In addition, as Jennifer becomes more

involved in the Retail sector and works to build out her Digital Retail footprint,

she has been engaged to speak on the topics of… The Connected Consumer

Experience, Digital Retail Technologies – Now & Next, and Microsoft’s Digital

Retail Point of View.

storytellers

Gabriella Davis - Technical Director, The Turtle Partnership

Maureen leland - Chief Architect, IBM Connections AppDev

DEVIN OLSEN - Senior Consultant, RedPill Development

Kathy brown – senior consultant, psc

Jennifer stevenson – sr digital advisor, Microsoft

TONY HOLDER – Sales manager (na), panagenda

also known as fraud

syndrome or the impostor

experience, is a concept

describing individuals who

have an inability to

internalise their

accomplishments and have a

persistent fear of being

exposed as a "fraud"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome

Imposter Syndrome

I’m supposed

to be the expert at this

I have no idea what I’m doing

So much pressure!

1st JOB

career

End of 1st JOB

How did I swing this new job?

2nd JOB

Own & Embrace ItUnderstanding that

some of your

behaviours are

driven by Imposter

Syndrome allows

you to adjust and

adapt

Gabriella Davis

Maureen leland

Things that are easy for us make us

feel of less value. The better you

are at your work, the easier it is and

as others talk about struggling you

can feel like more of an imposter.

Challenging yourself and meeting

those challenges helps to

strengthen confidence and feelings

of success

Challenge Yourself & Keep Moving Forward

You don’t have to be the expert on

everything. Attempting to bluff your

way through a piece of work because

asking questions feels like failure will

lead to failure. Ask questions and

learn and if no-one else knows the answer then you’ve identified a

problem in the project plan

Say “I Don’t Know” & Ask Questions

DEVIN OLSEN

Talk To Others About It

Everyone suffers from Imposter

syndrome to one degree or

another. Without turning every

conversation into a therapy

session, be prepared to

acknowledge to others after

an event that you felt

challenged by it or that you

are challenged but confident

doing something new

Kathy brown

Hand Out Praise

TONY HOLDER

Saying “thank you” or

acknowledging someone else’s

work makes that person feel

good, makes you feel good and

can change the dynamic in a

group. If people are supporting and recognising each other’s

work there’s more

opportunity for open

communication and less for

things to go wrong

“Write Down All The Good Things”

Jennifer stevenson

Imposter syndrome is very much about highs (ego) and lows

(imposter). By recording and storing all the successes and

thanks, no matter how small, you will find it easier to fight the imposter. You’ll also find it easier to stand on those

achievements when talking to others

THANKS FOR LISTENING

REMEMBER… COMBATING THE Imposter

Syndrome BEGINS WITH ACKNOWLEDGING YOUR

ACCOMPLISHMENTS, LEARNING FROM SETBACKS

AND MEETING CHALLENGES HEAD ON

DON’T LET THE ‘LITTLE VOICE’DROWN OUT THE BIG ROAR INSIDE!

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