First published 29 November 2021 on Your Best Year Starts Here with Nigel Risner.
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A listener asked us for an episode on imposter syndrome, so that's what this one is. Nigel opened by saying he'd have imposter syndrome about imposter syndrome. Then he Googled it live while I tried to explain it (and read out a couple of wrong bits before he found the right one).
My take is that it's when you actually know your stuff and still don't believe in yourself. I used the bit in Rocketman where Elton's about to play the Troubadour and finds out the Beach Boys and, I think, Bob Dylan are in. If you get that feeling sometimes, good. Nigel guessed why straight away. It means you care whether you can help the people in front of you.
Nigel had a real one from a couple of weeks before. He'd been in the Seychelles working with 100 Iranian chief execs, and after a late last night the people who'd been running the morning sessions didn't fancy a 7:30 meditation. So he said he'd do it, with four or five trainers sat on their own mats in the front row. He never once felt he wasn't good enough. He did talk so fast they're probably still writing. For him it comes down to integrity. If you know sweet FA about a subject and you're planning to wing it, that's a different problem.
We also got onto first-time speakers. Some of the best I've seen open by saying they're nervous and new to this, and it lands far better than someone making an entrance on a scooter to cover it up. Then there's the whizzy graphics crowd. I said, as lovingly as I could, that Nigel is the opposite. He made a point of telling me he'd got on the call without asking for a password.
I finished on the three presentations you always give, and a bit of done beats perfect. I think someone said that once. Maybe even wrote a book on it. Nigel didn't know who, but he was sure it was great.
My notes from this one
- A bit of imposter syndrome is a good sign. It means you care whether you can help.
- There'll always be someone in the room who knows more than you. You were still asked for a reason.
- Planning to wing a subject you don't know is an integrity problem, and that's a different thing.
- New speakers who own up to their nerves come across better than the ones who hide behind theatrics.
If you question your ability to help somebody else, it doesn't mean you can't help that person.
Neil Martin
I'll have imposter syndrome about imposter syndrome, and hopefully by the end of it I'll know what you're talking about.
Nigel Risner
