Imposter syndrome is a funny thing. In the beginning of my career, when I actually was an imposter, I never felt like one. As I was working as a senior product designer, I faced imposter syndrome and confidence issues for the first time. I managed to find strength in it and you can too!
Note: this newsletter is based on a talk I did earlier this year for The Fountain Institute. Thanks so much to Jeff and Hannah for inviting me and if you don’t know The Fountain Institute yet, check them out. They have great courses for experienced designers and run one of my favorite newsletters of all time
What is imposter syndrome?
Imposter syndrome has been a topic within the design community for a while now. For those lucky enough to have been spared from it, here’s a definition of what imposter syndrome is:
Impostor syndrome, also known as impostor phenomenon or impostorism, is a psychological occurrence in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud.
via Wikipedia
From a confident junior…
I started my UX career in a boutique agency. I was welcomed into a small but experienced team and working with different clients on different projects was a great place for to thrive. At the time, I did not experience much imposter syndrome.
I knew that I didn’t know much, that I was still learning and that I was ‘supposed’ to make mistakes. That gave me the feeling of freedom and room to experiment.
Moving from smaller agencies to a big organisation meant quite a steep learning curve for me. Not only did I have to learn the typical jargon and acronyms used at my current company, but I also had to learn how to navigate more complex political landscapes and build relationships with many different stakeholders.
…to an insecure senior.
When I got promoted to a senior position in my previous company, I didn’t feel the confidence boost I expected.
Instead, I started to doubt myself. I felt that now as a senior product designer, I had to have all the answers. I started to question if I actually knew anything at all…
I started to feel very insecure before design reviews. During meetings I was waiting for stakeholders to call me out and tell me my work was 💩. But time and time again, that critique did not come. People seemed happy with my work - which made me wonder: were they missing something?
6 insights to turn imposter syndrome into a strength
The anxiety I was feeling made me pause. Why was I all of a sudden questioning my skill and knowledge? Reflecting on helped me find strength in imposter syndrome.
These were 6 insights I had:
1. No one climbs the highest mountain alone
Asking for help is still a learning process for me and I had this limiting belief that I had to figure everything out on my own. I learned that asking for help is better for you and the team because it allows others to offer their expertise, too.
2. There’s freedom in saying “I don’t know”
Being a more experienced designer doesn’t mean you need to have all the answers. A popular saying “The more I learn, the less I know” definitely applies here and taught me once again that working in the design field is a lifelong learning journey.
3. Sharing with others builds trust
I was afraid that telling my manager about my insecurities as a designer would make them doubt me, but instead it helped build trust. It also made my colleagues shares their challenges with me, which was another opportunity to learn.
4. Being a newbie is a gift
With my promotion, new challenges and responsibilities came. I learned how to turn those challenges into opportunities. Whenever I felt like the dumbest person in the room, I thought: “Good, that means I can learn from everyone here.”
Besides that, being a newbie at something has one big benefit: you still ask a lot of questions. As you get more experience, you might get lazy and assume you already know how to ‘do the thing’. I actively try to keep those ‘fresh eyes’ and keep on asking why.
5. You can lead and learn at the same time.
At first I thought I had to lead by knowing what to do and having all the answers. Now I know that I can lead and learn at the same time. This especially becomes clear to me mentoring younger designers at work. Not only can I share my experiences with them: I learn a ton from them too!
6. Find the balance between comfort and pain
Even though I felt anxious at times, I never felt burnt out or lost sleep over work. I think that keeping the balance of going out of your comfort-zone but not so far that you’re in constant pain is the best way to grow. You get enough exposure to new challenges but you don’t get paralysed by fear.
It can take a while to find that balance. A good way for me is to manage my energylevels1 and seek out new opportunities to grow within my role - either by switching internally or moving into new roles.
When did you face imposter syndrome and how did you deal with it? Share your tips on how to overcome imposter syndrome in the comments - or share your story with me by replying to this email.
I wrote a piece of managing my energylevels a while ago, which you can read here: Manage your energy levels as a designer