Lets Talk: Managing Imposter Syndrome Event
Thursday 1 February 2024 was Time To Talk day, a national initiative run by the charity Mind, and in the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment (ADBE), we were taking the #timetotalk with our students and staff about imposter syndrome in our latest Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) event.
Our community event 'Let's Talk: Managing Imposter Syndrome' was organised by the school Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee and featured guest speakers, a panel discussion and networking conversations on the widespread but often hidden topic of imposter syndrome, i.e. the feeling of doubting our own abilities and believing that we don't belong or we are not as competent as others around us.
Research indicates that 70% of people may experience this phenomenon at some point in their lives. As a school, we wished to create a supportive environment for our staff and students to hear from a diverse range of voices about this important issue.
We were delighted to welcome a diverse panel of industry and academic colleagues to share their experiences of imposter syndrome and advice for the best ways of managing it. After some scene setting from Liz Radice, our Student Experience Lead, we kicked the evening off with 4 short and insightful presentations from:
- Trish Topliss, Director at Innes England;
- Nathan Gibbons, Design Support Officer at Endomag
- Grace Pownall, Sustainability Consultant at Arup
- Simon Chiou, Director at Lathams Architects
Our guests provided some frank and insightful reflections on their experiences of imposter syndrome at various stages of their lives and careers, as well as valuable tips on techniques for managing these feelings.
These techniques included: learning to trust yourself and your abilities,finding allies within your company or industry, showing self-compassion - being as kind to yourself as you are to other people, taking time to reflect objectively on your achievements - and to celebrate these, keeping a record of positive feedback, seeking feedback and advice from a mentor or trusted colleagues, taking time out to gain perspective - such as going for a walk in nature, pursuing new opportunities outside your comfort zone - such as giving presentations!
Trish, Grace and Simon were then joined by Baharah Kaveh, Principal Lecturer for Civil Engineering, and Chris Jones, School Employability Manager for a panel discussion to address questions from the audience and explore some of the topics raised in more detail.
Finally, we continued the conversation informally over refreshments. Students, staff and delegates chatted about their experiences and what they had learnt from the session, whilst also adding their own top tips and celebrating their achievements on our 'positive post-its' board!
This was a really informative and inspiring workshop which helped us all to develop our positivity, self-confidence and sense of community.