RMAG President's Letter

By Cat Campbell

It’s not what you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you are not.

—DENIS WAITLEY

I sat down with a sigh of relief. Done. My first formal presentation as a working geologist. Finally, I’d made it. Years of study and hard work culminated in this one experience: presenting a concept of water chemistry for field delineation.

Walking out of the conference room, another new grad stopped me. “You are either a genius or you have no idea what you are doing.”

I instantly felt the energy and exhilaration I’d experienced moments before evaporate. What was I doing here? What made me think I was good enough to succeed in this industry of innovation when I am clearly incompetent? I slowly made my way back to my office, defeated and questioning the future I had envisioned for myself as a geologist.

Why wasn’t my reaction that day the opposite? Why didn’t I respond with a “thank you, I would be happy to explain the concept in further detail to you”?

Imposter Syndrome. Rearing its ugly head and destroying the fragile thread of confidence that seemed to be holding me together.

I still believe that at any point the no-talent police will come and arrest me.

—MIKE MYERS

Psychology Today describes people who experience imposter syndrome to “believe that they are undeserving of their achievements and the high esteem in which they are, in fact, generally held. They feel they aren’t as competent or intelligent as others might think- and that soon enough, people will discover the truth about them.” (Imposter Syndrome | Psychology Today)

Imposter Syndrome is typically classified into five types: Perfectionist, Superperson, Natural Genius, Soloist, and Expert (Figure 1). Each type has unique characteristics, but they all share the common approach of attributing their successes to external factors such as luck or good timing rather than inherent ability and effort (Bravata et al, 2019). This constant striving for perfection, questioning oneself, and comparing oneself to others can lead to burnout and cause poor job performance.

FIGURE 1: The five types of imposter syndrome.

(medium.com)

Ironically one of the triggers of imposter syndrome is acknowledging someone’s success. Pointing out a job well done, giving someone an award, or congratulating a promotion can cause someone to question his or her ability and wonder if the acknowledgement is deserved.

I still have a little imposter syndrome… It doesn’t go away, that feeling that you shouldn’t take me that seriously. What do I know? I share that with you because we all have doubts in our abilities, about our power and what that power is.

—MICHELLE OBAMA

How do you combat imposter syndrome? One key is realizing that this is a very common phenomenon, and that it is something that is okay to talk about.

More than a decade after that first talk, I found myself sitting at a table at Colorado School of Mines leading a discussion on imposter syndrome. I told the story about my first talk and my mentor Terri Olson looked at me and asked why I didn’t just come talk to her about it. She was present at that meeting when I presented my work and was pleased with my conclusions. She was shocked to learn that I felt inadequate and reminded me that this is precisely what mentors are for. From time to time I’ll get an inkling that I am in over my head or will not be good enough at something, but I took Terri’s advice and reach out friends, mentors and peers and talk about my concerns. I need to remind myself that we never stop learning and no one is perfect at everything they do.

You don’t have to be an expert. No one is expecting you to be an expert. All you need to do is how up and be you.

—RUTH SOUKUP

REFERENCE:

Bravata et al, 2019: Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome: a Systematic Review (nih.gov)