Professional Impostor?
- Slides: "Confessions from an Impostor"
- Recording: "Confessions from an Impostor"
(JSNation Conference, ~46 minutes)
What is a Professional Impostor? (expand for more)
No, we're not talking about successfully playing the role of "Impostor" in the game "Among Us". Nor are we talking about professional con artists like Frank Abagnale ("Catch Me If You Can").
Professional Impostors are not trying to deceive those they interact with. Rather, folks who identify as Professional Impostors are proud to share their journey with everyone around them, including and especially the stuff they don't know yet but are trying to get better at.
So why "impostor" (typically a negative term) instead of "amateur", "apprentice", "journeyman", etc? Because anyone who's felt impostor syndrome knows that our brain tricks us into believing we're barely fooling the experts around us—that we're actually not that skilled—and we fear being discovered for the fraud.
The best way to un-trick our brains out of this psychological fiction is to reclaim and redefine the term "impostor" into a badge we're each eager to wear and show off to others.
Instead of merely coping with the debilitation of this syndrome, professional impostorism is a positive identity we should strive towards.
Professional I'MPOSTOR Manifesto Link
- As empirical-leaning pragmatists, we rely more on what we can observe and do, than on the orthodox doctrines of the discipline.
- We're not afraid to lean into doing, and learn from that doing, so we can do better the next time.
- We are quick to admit: "I don't know... yet!"
- We don't wait to get involved until we've gathered expertise or garnered accolades.
- We're passionately curious, always asking "How?" and "Why?"
- We cycle between doing and learning and back again.
- We honor what's come before, but we eagerly look for opportunities to do it better the next time.
- We respect all our peers as valued equals with infinite capacity, and we seek to inspire and build off their enthusiasm to expand our own.
- We spread this inclusive and proactive I'MPOSTOR message, inviting everyone we encounter to collaborate in that better future.
If you believe "Professional Impostor" is an identity you hold (or want to!), please sign the Professional Impostor Manfiesto below, and make sure to tell those around you why you did!