The cult of field experience and the imposter syndrome

This article is about identifying and overcoming imposter syndrome in the Social Sectors. This universal human impulse manifests in Social Sector professionals in a unique way. We talk about how to spot it,  and then overcome it to do our best work.  
Suzanne Imes and Pauline Clance identified this concept in the 1970s. Imposter Syndrome is the sensation of “...phoniness in people who believe that they are not intelligent, capable or creative, despite evidence of high achievement.” People experiencing imposter syndrome “are highly motivated to achieve, but “live in fear of being ‘found out’ or exposed as frauds.”

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I experience this whenever I step outside the security barrier of my imagined comfort zone. This comfort zone is based on my imagination of my past experience and usually involves flashing around my ‘field experience’. 

Field experience in international humanitarian response means living and working in war and natural disaster zones with organizations that deliver help to people affected by the crisis. This implies deep credibility, knowledge, the acceptance of risk, and a set of experiences that you take with you wherever you go. At its worst,  this can also mean: burnout, being a jerk all the time, having a superiority complex, and doing low quality work that rides on past achievement. 

Of course we need people in the Social Sectors with real and relevant experience. This is different for each Social Secor field. A teaching assignment in a tough neighborhood for an educator might bring the same type of credibility that my time in Liberia provides.  This is a necessary part of each Social Sector professional’s career development trajectory. But this should not come at the expense of close mindedness, exclusivity and and the repetition of created stories about our past. 

When you say you have field experience, you are establishing your credibility but also implying that what you are about to say falls within your comfort area. Using field experience as a security barrier means that you are afraid of being outside of that zone. The imposter syndrome tries to keep you within that imaginary zone of field experience so that no one can question your creativity and risk. If you stay within your proclaimed field experience you are safe. 

The field experience mantra protects you from imposter syndrome. But imposter syndrome is a real and documented condition that I feel when I begin work on an ahead that is outside my zone of past achievement. Previous experience demonstrates my credibility, but working on a new project in an area where you have never worked, can bring out the imposter feelings.  

What we really want in the Social Sectors are people who have a strong mental map of the right kind of future, and show up with persistence every day to work toward that map. We don’t really want people who have done well in the past. We want people who can show up now, commit, and move through the inevitable obstacles that arise in our work. Past achievement does not guarantee future success. In fact it can limit our willingness to address imposter syndrome, break through that fear and do our best work. 

Controlling the imposter syndrome

My working model for dealing with this issue: 

Objectively know imposter syndrome is a smoldering fire inside the house of my mind. Usually it is banked down when I’m staying within my boundaries with the windows closed. However when I open up the windows and let in the storm of trying something new, all that fresh air sparks up the blaze. Heat and smoke of imposter syndrome can choke out that desire to try something new.  This fire is good. This means you are pushing toward your edge and working at the outer extent of your abilities. However, the haze can physically and mentally block us. 

Having the awareness of the source of the blaze can help me get that fire into a safe and modern woodstove where it is always burning but the smoke goes outside and I can stand around and sip whisky and watch the flames burn as I do my new creative work. I can also then close off the air and bank it down when the big push is over so it is dormant until it flares up again. 

Another framework and method for controlling the imposter syndrome from Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic:

“Fear and the imposter syndrome is always there in your mind. It is like that friend on a long road trip. You can’t get rid of that voice but you can make sure that it never drives and stays as quiet as possible.”

Do you also encounter this issue? What do you do about the doubts? Hit me up on email or leave a comment on the article. 

Happy Trails. 

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