The Changemaker’s Toolkit | Developing an Innovation Mindset Starts with Putting Imposter Syndrome in its Place (the Dustbin)
When pulling this course together on developing an innovation mindset, I sat down and focused on what came to mind when I thought of the word imposter. The Pink Panther. That’s what emerged. Naturally, I then spent the next half hour on YouTube watching 1970’s cartoon clips of the Pink Panther posing as a farmer, a surgeon, an astronaut - whatever he needed to pretend to be to win someone’s confidence for his advantage. Henry Mancini’s iconic score was a reminder that the Pink Panther was always being sneaky as he slipped one over on whomever he was trying to outwit.
Since then, bringing the Pink Panther to mind whenever I feel imposter syndrome has become a tool I use to shut down fear and lean into my potential. Why? Because the Pink Panther is a great example of an imposter; someone who pretends to be someone they are not for malicious intent. When I feel imposter syndrome, that most definitely is NOT what I’m trying to do. It’s more apt to say that what I am feeling is fear. That’s a perfectly normal human feeling and when I think of the Pink Panther, I quickly reject the idea that I’m an imposter.
In fact, when these thoughts emerge, I’m usually in a situation where I want to do well, I’m doing something that I really care about, and / or I am with people whom I respect and admire. Because of that, I will have done a lot of preparation before the meeting, workshop, panel conversation, presentation. That is the opposite of how an imposter would behave!
Oftentimes when we’re feeling like an imposter, it’s an indication of how the power over culture that we’re all part of has seeped into our psyche. We’re hard wired to prove ourselves to whomever is the gatekeeper to our goal. The system is set up to cause us to question our own self worth. From class rankings to job interviews, from grant proposals to Dragon’s Den. This list could go on forever.
When we’re in a situation where we feel like we have to prove ourselves, it’s unlikely that we’re feeling comfortable. By default, we’re outside of our comfort zone. The first thing we feel when we’re outside of our comfort zone is fear. All of us. It’s natural. The good news is that if we sit with the fear, we move beyond it and enter the discovery zone, learning zone, and growth zone. Places we WANT to be, and I find it helps to sit with the fear knowing what lurks on the other side. Essentially, it’s self-esteem training. As innovators and changemakers, we certainly need to keep deepening and intertwining the roots of our self esteem.
A critical component of a changemaker’s toolkit is learning how to quickly recognise:
Societal convention that we may be responding too when we feel less than
What triggers our imposter syndrome and how to calm our nerves and re-balance ourselves
The comfort zone phases we find ourselves in so we can push past fear
Changemakers are visionaries. We see a different way things could be and we’re forging new paths to get there. That means getting comfortable with ambiguity and accepting that not knowing something today, doesn’t mean that you won’t have an answer tomorrow (or in two year’s time…).
Changemakers often find themselves in rooms of people who don’t see things the same way. Of course! You are ahead of your time and you are asking people to trust you as opposed to how they’ve been hard-wired to think.
Helping others to change their mental model starts with deeply understanding how yours was formed, how to shift the ideas that no longer serve you, and tools and techniques you can share with others to do the same.
That’s why the first step on the Together Culture Changemaker’s Toolkit journey is Develop an Innovation Mindset. In this course, we’ll help you develop your ability to move through ambiguity to enable something new to emerge. As part of an intimate co-learning team of innovators, you’ll deep dive into overcoming imposter syndrome, explore the values that shape how you see the world, identify and assert your values based boundaries (and develop a plan for what to do if you cross someone else’s boundaries unintentionally so you don’t get derailed), you’ll learn new techniques for how to approach disagreement as an opportunity for creativity, and you’ll explore how to improve your decision making abilities to open up new opportunities.
Along the way, my wish for you is that you’ll find the courage to devote yourself wholeheartedly to your identity as a changemaker. The world needs you - and you are no Pink Panther.
I can’t wait to learn and change with you,
Heather
Develop an Innovation Mindset facilitator
The next Together Culture Changemaker’s Toolkit Cohort starts on 12 January. Book your place at www.togetherculture.com/1-innovation-mindset
