Aviation for Women is the flagship member publication of Women in Aviation International. Articles feature women who have made aviation history, professional development ideas, and current-topic articles.
Issue link: https://afwdigital.epubxp.com/i/715635
S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6 Aviation forWomen 31 by Patricia Luebke art could fit in a thimble, to go look at the wonders of the Lou- vre? I've sat in expensive Manhattan restaurants like 21 and Sardi's and felt like I didn't belong, while believing everyone else in the dining room did. Sure. My worst manifestation, though, was staying way too long at a job because I felt that my success there was some sort of fluke—the planets happened to align in my favor—and that my success at that company wasn't transferrable to another company. So I stayed. And stayed. I've gotten better (and healthier) in the ensuing years, but I must confess that even to this day I'll read an article I wrote when it's published and come to a particularly well-written part and think that the editor must have inserted that section. Then I go back to my origi- nal document to check and see that, in fact, I'm the one who wrote those words. How about you? If you thought that you passed your instru- ment checkride because you happened to get an easy exam- iner or that you were recently promoted because the person who would have been chosen left your company, then you may be grappling with impostor syndrome. If you think your success is just lucky, that "everybody" knows more than you do, that everybody knows clearly what they're doing, that you've just been fortunate, then impostor syndrome could be hurting your life and career. The good news for all of us is that impostor syndrome is not a mental disorder—we just happen to have a collection of personality traits that makes us doubt ourselves and our own accomplishments. But just because it's not a disorder doesn't mean that impostor syndrome isn't damaging our careers. Harboring these feelings of inadequacy holds us back. If you act like a scared little lamb at work, you'll be treated like a scared little lamb. If you question your ability to be pro- moted, or won't even apply when an opening occurs at your job, or your doubts about yourself manifest themselves in your workplace, you are hurting yourself. If your fears of be- ing inadequate or incompetent prevent you from stating your case or presenting an idea or volunteering to lead a project, your bosses won't know how talented you really are. What adds to this negative situation is that you are being held back in your career, not because of office politics, not because of "the man," not because you didn't go to an Ivy League school, not because of crafty co-workers, not because of your boss, but because of you. You are the one holding yourself back. And there are steps you can take to remedy the situation and give your career its rightful chance to blossom. If you recognize yourself as a self-imposed participant in impostor syndrome, you've already taken the first step. That's progress already! One of the first steps in my own recovery from impostor syndrome came, luckily, early in my career. I would sit in a The good news for all of us is that impostor syndrome is not a mental disorder. But just because it's not a disorder doesn't mean that impostor syndrome isn't damaging our careers. Harboring these feelings of inadequacy holds us back.