Impostor Syndrome in tech

Talking at #HumanOps about impostor syndrome in operations (and security).

Transcript

1. Impostor Syndrome in tech (someone can do this talk better than me) @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 1
2. Who's this clown? 2 » Infrastructure security at Etsy. » Operations engineer at Puppet. » Worked at some startups and some not so startups. » Owns a lot of black t-shirts. 2 https://twitter.com/skullmandible/status/411281851131523072 @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 2
3. I work at Etsy Antisocial Construct Zine by EricSobelArt @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 3
4. Impostor syndrome! @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 4
5. Impostor syndrome is when high- achieving individuals are marked by an inability to internalise their accomplishments & a persistent fear of being exposed as a "fraud" — clinical psychologists Dr. Pauline R. Clance & Suzanne A. Imes @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 5
6. Am I even qualified to give this talk? — Me, earlier today, proving that I probably am. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 6
7. "But everyone has this, no?" @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 7
8. OCD vs. Actually liking things to be tidy @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 8
9. Exemplum! @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 9
10. <Etsy story goes here, so slides are useless> @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 10
11. "I am going to be discovered and fired..." — Me, then. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 11
12. THIS IS FUCKING DEPRESSING @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 12
13. It makes it real hard to do good work @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 13
14. Which then just perpetuates itself @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 14
15. Which leads to burnout... @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 15
16. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 16
17. Reality vs. Perception of others From https://billwatt.org/the-imposter-syndrome/ @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 17
18. STORY TIME @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 18
19. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 19
20. HOLY SHIT WE HAVE DIFFERENCE EXPERIENCES @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 20
21. (Best (worst) stock photo ever?) @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 21
22. Impostor syndrome can be a sign that you're about to learn awesome things. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 22
23. It can be a sign you have a lot of knowledge to share too! @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 23
24. Straw poll How many people have you heard of getting fired due to knowing nothing? How many people have you heard of having impostor syndrome? @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 24
25. So why do our brains make this trade off? @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 25
26. Ego? @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 26
27. Did I mention I work in security? @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 27
28. "well don't think of yourself as an imposter, think of yourself as not a psychopath." — Scott Roberts @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 28
29. "One of the best things I've done for myself lately: created a doc where I copy-paste compliments I've gotten. Great for low days. Try it." — Molly Clare @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 29
30. What can you do as an organisation? @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 30
31. Acknowledge it! @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 31
32. It's okay to say what's okay @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 32
33. Obligatory reference to blameless postmortems as I'm contractually bound to by Etsy @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 33
34. Praise others, because they may feel this too. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 34
35. Tip for praise: Don't personalize. For the same reason you wouldn't say "You're a dumbass," don't just say "You're a genius." — @candor 5 5 Blameless praise! from Slack's great article on giving feedback @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 35
36. Stop the nerd snipe, even if it's good intentioned @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 36
37. Your culture often affects people in seemingly invisible ways @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 37
38. Just don't go too far (; Dunning–Kruger effect @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 38
39. Let's hope I'm on track for time! » be understand to people, this is hard. » be kind to yourself, even if you're a jerk like me. » seek help if you can (friends, therapists, coworkers) » Query Annotations (Hi Jenni!) (: @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 39
40. This affects people differently » Confidence sadly often comes with privilege. » As does arrogance. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 40
41. Mess of links that will be useful when I tweet the URL to this slidedeck » Impostor Syndrome in DFIR - Scott Roberts fantastic piece on the topic. » Allowed To Apply - blog on telling yourself you can do this. » How to get a promotion » Blue Hackers - site on mental health in the tech community and how to help. » Tall Poppy Syndrome - wikipedia page on cutting people down @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 41
42. Ta » My blog post on the subject » Twidder: @benjammingh » LinkedIn: lnkdin.me/p/benyeah » SpeakerDeck: speakerdeck.com/barnbarn » Etsy: Careers <--- CodeAsCraft <--- our blog @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 42