1. Impostor Sydrome Are You Faking it, and Will They Find Out?
Mindy Curnutt
TMW Systems / Trimble Navigation

2. About Me VP, Information Management, TMW SQL Server MVP
Idera ACE
SQL Server since 6.5 / 1995 (20 Years)
SQLPASS Speaker, 2005,
PASS Program Manager 2015 & 2016

3. Let me tell you a story…
Tell Story about getting the nomination to the Air Force Academy. The disbelief in getting it. The panic. Then failing the pull ups, rejection. Secret relief. Offer for Annapolis. Decline.

4. What is Impostor Syndrome
What is Impostor Syndrome? Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon or fraud syndrome) is a term coined in 1978 by clinical psychologists Dr. Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes referring to high-achieving individuals marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a "fraud".

5. That little voice in your head that says things to you like…

6. Hey Man. Shhhhhhh…..
Play it cool.
Don’t say ANYTHING.
Keep your mouth SHUT.
If you talk, they might
figure out that you really
don’t know as much as
they think you do!

7. You’re not good enough yet to lead that team

8. You’re not good enough yet to take on that project

9. You’re not good enough yet to apply for that job

10. You’re not good enough yet to speak at that conference

11. You’re not good enough yet to write that book

12. You don’t know enough yet You only got that position because you were lucky!

13. You will FAIL! You’ll get FIRED! or worse yet…
What’s your biggest fear at work? How many times in the last 10 years have you been fired?
But it may happen any day now, right???

14. You’re in Good Company

15. You’re in Good Company

16. You’re in Good Company

17. You’re in Good Company

18. Highly Prevalent in Technical Fields…
In the last 5 years, have you had feelings
similar to those described by Impostor Syndrome?
Survey of 11 IT Professionals in Manager or Above Positions
Survey of 42 Microsoft Data Platform MVPs
81%
86%

19. Let me tell you another story…
Nuclear Engineering Major. First Quarter…pretty much the only girl, pretty much one of the few Caucasians. I don’t belong here. This was a huge mistake. Changed major.

20. What isn’t it? Dunning-Kruger Effect
In simple words: "people who are too stupid to know how stupid they are"
The phenomenon was first experimentally observed in a series of experiments by David Dunning and Justin Kruger of the department of psychology at Cornell University in 1999.[1][2] The study was inspired by the case of McArthur Wheeler, a man who robbed two banks after covering his face with lemon juice in the mistaken belief that, because lemon juice is usable as invisible ink, it would prevent his face from being recorded on surveillance cameras.[3] The authors noted that earlier studies suggested that ignorance of standards of performance lies behind a great deal of incorrect self-assessment of competence.
This pattern of over-estimating competence was seen in studies of skills as diverse as reading comprehension, practicing medicine, operating a motor vehicle, and playing games such as chess or tennis. Dunning and Kruger proposed that, for a given skill, incompetent people will:[4]
fail to recognize their own lack of skill
fail to recognize the extent of their inadequacy
fail to accurately gauge skill in others
recognize and acknowledge their own lack of skill only after they are exposed to training for that skill
"If you're incompetent, you can’t know you’re incompetent.… [T]he skills you need to produce a right answer are exactly the skills you need to recognize what a right answer is."[5]

21. Dunning-Kruger Effect
Over-estimating competence
Practicing Medicine
Driving a Car
Playing Games – Chess / Tennis
Fail to recognize their own lack of skill
Fail to recognize the extent of their inadequacy
Fail to accurately gauge skill in others
"If you're incompetent, you can’t know you’re incompetent.… the skills you need to produce a right answer are exactly the skills you need to recognize what a right answer is."

22. Dunning-Kruger vs Impostor Syndrome

23. Impostor Syndrome Symptoms
Dismiss or make excuses when given praise
Praise is uncomfortable, makes you squirm
Feel success is due to luck, fluke, timing
Secretly believe others are more intelligent than you
Super hard working
First into office and/or last out
Over-Achieve on Deliverables, don’t want to be exposed as a “fake”
Don’t want to be perceived as a “slacker”
Not thinking you’re good enough despite clear evidence to the contrary

24. You’re in Good Company
“The exaggerated esteem in which my lifework is held makes me very ill at ease. I feel compelled to think of myself as an involuntary swindler.” - Albert Einstein
He developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics. 

25. You’re in Good Company
(About getting an Oscar) “I thought it was a fluke. It was the same way when I walked on the campus at Yale. I thought everybody would find out, and they’d take the Oscar back” – Jodi Foster
Foster is an American actress, director and producer who has worked in films and on television. She has often been cited as one of the best actresses of her generation

26. You’re in Good Company
“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘uh-oh, they’re going to find me out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out’” – Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 year

27. You’re in Good Company
“I still believe that at any time the no-talent police will come and arrest me.” – Mike Myers
Wayne’s World, Austin Powers, voice of Shrek in the cartoons…

28. You’re in Good Company
“Why would anyone want to see me again in a movie? And I don’t know how to act anyway, so why am I doing this?” – Meryl Streep
Cited in the media as the "best actress of her generation“
3 Academy Awards, Streep has also received 
29 Golden Globe nominations, winning eight—more nominations, and more competitive (non-honorary) wins than any other actor (male or female) in the history of the award.[4] 
2 Screen Actors Guild Awards,
1 Cannes Film Festival award,
5 New York Film Critics Circle Awards,
2 BAFTA awards,
2 Australian Film Institute awards,
5 Grammy Award nominations,

29. Let me tell you another story…
Putting together this presentation. Not what I usually present on. Way out of my comfort zone to not be talking about something technical. I’ve never delivered just a “Prof Dev” talk before. What if I mess up? What if it’s a total flaming bomb out? What if it’s too short, or I don’t get my point across, or you all hate it? Maybe I shouldn’t have signed up to do this? Maybe this was a huge mistake? Still there….that voice is still there.

30. Why is it Destructive? Less inclined to compete for advanced positions
Underpaid?
Fear to pursue new ideas and/or take risks
Hesitate to offer valuable insight, ideas, opinions and solutions
Afraid that you’ll expose your “ignorance”
Afraid you’ll look like a fool

31. Why is it Destructive? Don’t share knowledge with others
Speaking
Blogging
Forums
Twitter Help Hashtags
Whitepapers
Paired Programming (terrifying)
Open Source Contributions
PLAIN FACT: Coding involves regular failure.

32. Why is it Destructive? One of two things ends up happening:
Holding back stunts your career, never achieve what you could have
Push too far, go for “ALL THE THINGS!”
Ends up in Burn-Out
Game Over

33. How does this Happen? Some theories My thoughts
Childhood labelling of ability by parents and family
Undeserving reward through childhood, later questioned as adult
My thoughts
Smart people tend to realize there is a lot they don’t know (opposite of the Dunning-Kruger Effect)

34. How do you Help Yourself?
Knowledge
Simply knowing what it is and that it exists is HUGE.
Knowing how prevalent it is, is HUGE.
You’re not alone! 80%!!! That’s a LOT.
Logic over Emotion
Try to separate FEELINGS from FACT. Just because you feel less intelligent than those around you, it doesn’t mean you actually are! Practice rational thinking.
Positive Thinking
Accentuate the positive. Forgive yourself for the negative.

35. How do you Help Yourself?
Ideas
Keep a file of nice things that people say about you.
Print up your resume, take your name off of it. Look at it as if you were reading the resume of a stranger. What do you think?
Realize that nobody knows what they’re doing. Think about your parents for a minute…
Find one person you can actually say “I am a fraud” to. Listen to them laugh and tell you you’re nuts.
Kill your heroes - “God Like Celebrity Heroes”….look at the MVP #s, they are just like you! Kill the Hero, leave behind the human being.
Nobody was born with a laptop writing code. Well…none of us in this room were!
You don’t have to be them to be awesome.
Let it Go! (aaarrrggghhh).

36. How do you Help Yourself?
Kill your Heroes.
Realize that you ARE going to die.
Kill your heroes - “God Like Celebrity Heroes”….look at the MVP #s, they are just like you! Kill the Hero, leave behind the human being.
Nobody was born with a laptop writing code. Well…none of us in this room were!
You don’t have to be them to be awesome.
Let it Go! (aaarrrggghhh).
Start at 35 seconds in.

37. Summary
“Seriously, I just realized that almost everyone is a fraud, so I try not to feel to bad about it.” – Tina Fey

38. Summary
Don't let your feelings of inadequacy stop you from taking advantage of opportunities when they come around.

39. Comments?

40. Mindy Curnutt VP, Information Management, TMW Systems
T H A N K Y O U
Mindy Curnutt VP, Information Management, TMW Systems
p: e:
M O V I N G Y O U F O R W A R D