Upgrade to Pro — share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …

Impostor Syndrome in tech

Impostor Syndrome in tech

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

Bea Hughes

June 30, 2016
Tweet

More Decks by Bea Hughes

Other Decks in Technology

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. 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
  4. Am I even qualified to give this talk? — Me,

    earlier today, proving that I probably am. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 6
  5. "I am going to be discovered and fired..." — Me,

    then. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 11
  6. Impostor syndrome can be a sign that you're about to

    learn awesome things. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 22
  7. It can be a sign you have a lot of

    knowledge to share too! @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 23
  8. 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
  9. "well don't think of yourself as an imposter, think of

    yourself as not a psychopath." — Scott Roberts @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 28
  10. "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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. This affects people differently » Confidence sadly often comes with

    privilege. » As does arrogance. @benjammingh for HumanOps SF 40
  14. 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
  15. 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