How to tackle Imposter syndrome
What is imposter syndrome
The Harvard Business Review describes imposter syndrome as “doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud”. Many individuals describe it as feeling like you will be found out as a fraud, and you only got to where you are due to luck. The phrase was first used by psychologists Suzanna Imes and Pauline Rose Clance in the 1970s. Imposter syndrome was “originally thought to apply mostly to high-achieving women. Since then, it has been recognised as more widely experienced.”
Why is it so apparent in the creative industry?
There could be multiple reasons for this. Maybe because when we create work it can be very visual and it is often shown to multiple people. As a UX/product designer the work we create is often seen by product managers, developers, QA, team members, stakeholders, users and the list goes on. Whereas the code a developer writes or the planning a product manager does isn’t seen by anyone except maybe their close team mates. This means it isn’t up for potential scrutiny or judgement. Their work also isn’t as tangible as the work designers create.. it can’t be seen.
Because our work is so visual, people can also form their own opinions as it is so easy to do this when you see designs so it is much easier to give designers feedback on their work. Whereas if I looked at a piece of code, I wouldn’t have a clue if it was perfect or awful 😅
Does it go away
The bad news is no.. The good news is you learnt to not be so impacted by it and learn to ignore it. It’s very much like the feeling of fear. High performers don’t report not feeling fear the ‘better they get’, they still have those feelings of fear but they accept they are part of the process. They actually often also see those feelings as showing they are on the right path as they are clearly out of their comfort zone and that is where the best growth happens.
How to stop letting imposter syndrome effect you in design
You have to remind yourself that when people criticise your designs, their feedback may not necessarily be relevant. So much thinking happens in the background when designing which people may not be aware of so often their feedback can be irrelevant. One example is when I develop multiple ideas for a solution, I then pick the final solution based on a number of factors such how closely it will meet the user needs, sometimes I rate the concepts based on the principles of the project etc. And there are times where I will get somebody saying ‘I think it would be better to try X option’. And I know I have tried all the options and the chosen one came out top.
This is important because the final result wasn’t based on my personal opinion, it was based on a methodological process which led me to the result. That is the great thing about the design process, it helps you get to the final design using an unbiased approach. So you can’t be judged for the final design, the process is what should be judged. And if it is wrong, then the process is what needs to change.. and that is completely okay!
If you want to learn more, take a look at this book: “The secret thoughts of successful women: Why capable people suffer from the Imposter Syndrome and how to thrive in spite of it”
I hope this was useful!
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