Product Managers Dealing with Impostor Syndrome 🥊
Learnings on the Long Journey to Self-Confidence 🚀
Hi there! This is Jorge Herna 👋🏼 Welcome to my newsletter, where I’ll share insights and thoughts about the Product world. You will learn about Product, Growth, Stakeholder Management, and everything that entails the PM role.
In case you missed it, here’s what happened this month.
Like many, this August has been filled with days off, travels, and work for me. Upon returning to Spain, I was eager to resume my newsletter, continue interviews with potential new clients, and keep carving my path in the Product world. 🏋🏽♂️
However, just like when you return to school after a vacation as a child, and your hand doesn't write as smoothly as it did before, my mind started to overwhelm me, and I felt blocked.
How do I handle all of this without overwhelming myself? Am I good enough to do what I'm preaching? What kind of value am I really bringing as a PM?
In today's newsletter, we won't dive deep into Product Management, but we will discuss something that can affect any Product Manager and, consequently, jeopardize their professional career.
It's going to be a somewhat intense and "dense" journey, but if you're experiencing this phenomenon, I believe it will help you 😊.
Understanding the Syndrome 🙉 (Please don’t skip this part)
Before we delve deeply into the topic, I'd like to share my perspective on Impostor Syndrome. This is the best definition I've come across so far, and I discovered it thanks to Dr. Lisa Orbe-Austin.
It's the phenomenon that occurs when, despite having demonstrated skills, achievements, credentials, and more, we haven't internalized them. As a result, there's a deep concern about being exposed as a fraud. Consequently, you tend to self-sabotage and overprepare to mask that feeling.
Have you ever felt this way? In my case, it wasn't until I left my old company that I began to recognize that I was suffering from Impostor Syndrome, and chances are, I had been carrying it for quite some time.
It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Your status, role, and company provide security and reinforce your professional image. Losing that part meant my exposure to the market became complete, making any event, both positive and negative, in my professional career affect me twice as much.
As I delved deeper into the Impostor phenomenon, I discovered two very important things: what we call the impostor cycle and gender differentiation.
The Impostor Syndrome cycle 🎡
When I was investigating the syndrome to see if I was going through it, I couldn't find solid correlations with what I was feeling. Consequently, I wasn't sure if what I was experiencing was Impostor Syndrome.
Typically, the "overwork" aspect is used as one of the indicators to identify the phenomenon. However, in my case, this was sometimes true and sometimes not. What I later discovered was that similar to life, syndromes can manifest in various forms.
In broad terms, we can identify two types of syndromes. I'll refer to them as Types 1 and 2.
Type 1 Syndrome - Excessive work and poor integration of achievements
This is generally the most popular case, or at least the one I've seen most often among other Product Managers in my circle. It's characterized by "excessive work" and the "lack of internalization of achievements."
Product Managers carry a significant responsibility on their shoulders. The success of your product is tied to your ability to understand user and market needs. If things aren't going well, it's often attributed to not making sound decisions based on available data.
It's entirely normal for us to rely on exhaustive preparation as a way to ensure the success of our decisions and to alleviate our insecurities.
On the other hand, the poor "internalization of achievements" is intensified by the pressure and doubts we face at the beginning of each significant project.
The roots of this issue go beyond Product Management, so we'll delve into this later when discussing how to overcome and deal with our impostor syndrome. At least that's how I approach it - I try to.
Type 2 Syndrome - Procrastination and Interpret negative feedback as incompetence
This is the second type we can encounter, characterized by "procrastination" and "interpreting negative feedback as incompetence."
Instead of adopting a "let's give it our all" attitude, we do just the opposite and distance ourselves from our responsibilities until we can't procrastinate any longer and finally get to work.
We know that the work delivered could have been better, but since we haven't dedicated as much time, we know it doesn't fully represent our capabilities. In the end, it's a disguised technique to mask our insecurity.
In an environment where PMs are expected to master their product or their part of it, showing vulnerability can be a bit tricky.
Once the work is delivered, you receive "mixed feedback," and you think, perhaps you're not so bad after all. But because you've done things half-heartedly, you tend to focus more on the negative aspects, which end up affecting the new project that just landed on your plate.
Gender Differences 👫
One of the most surprising findings during my research was that the Impostor Phenomenon was identified as something that was more likely to be experienced by women or minorities, primarily due to the environments they had grown up in. Men weren't mentioned as much as I had expected.
It took me a moment to align myself with the idea that existing toxic masculinity had made it so that men didn't openly discuss the issue, and therefore, the data wasn't entirely accurate.
One of the professional opinions I strongly support, and once again it comes from Dr. Lisa Orbe-Austin, is the following:
While women often choose to confront this fear and then attempt to overcome it throughout their professional lives, with varying degrees of success, men tend to take a more defensive stance - saving face - which leads them to avoid challenges that might trigger this fear. As a result, they seek spaces where they can maintain a sense of control.
Before you form an opinion about what you've just read, please consider carefully whether this exists in your environment as objectively as possible, setting aside the attempt to differentiate between men and women.
Looking back and taking into account the last statement, I can say that there is a difference in how we experience the syndrome depending on gender.
As a male Product Manager, I can say that in a society where things are measured by "how much, how, and for how long you can handle pressure," it's easy for us to try to appear invulnerable. Consequently, many male professionals may want to appear unyielding and all-powerful.
Efforts should be made to move away from this perception.
Dealing with the Syndrome in a PM way 🥊
Now that we've grasped some important aspects that help us understand the phenomenon, we can begin to explore how to work on it.
I must remind you that I'm not a specialized psychologist, and what I'm about to mention here is based on my readings, listenings, and discussions on the subject, along with my own experience.
This is my open letter to all those who want to start working on their personal growth, which will consequently impact our journey as Product Managers.
Phase 1 - Clarity 🕯
Searching for the Root Problem
I'll tell you right away; it's impossible to solve your problem with impostor syndrome if you can't discover where the root of the problem lies. It's similar to when we try to develop features for your Product without understanding the root cause of the issue.
We're PMs, so it should be easy, right? 😅
Not quite. This is the most introspective step of the journey where we have to look inward to figure out what's causing us to behave this way. Self-reflection can be uncomfortable, and if you're not making any progress, I recommend consulting with a professional therapist.
You might find it absurd, but just like with my users, I decided to apply the "5 Whys" exercise to myself to understand why I was doing what I was doing.
Identify your triggers
Not everything has to lead to experiencing impostor syndrome, but there are certain triggers that, if not identified, can keep you in a constant loop.
Your manager can be a trigger, the company culture can be a trigger, a specific type of task can be a trigger.
If we know our triggers, we can learn to avoid them to some extent - whenever possible - or at least identify when we're falling victim to a trigger.
Change your narrative
When we talk about changing the narrative, we mean altering the way we speak about our strengths and insecurities. This applies both to ourselves and when communicating with others.
We should focus on constructing a narrative that connects our strengths with the accomplishments and achievements we've gathered throughout our careers.
A phrase I really liked from a conversation I had with Kax Uson, HoP at Adevinta, goes something like this (I'm writing it from memory):
The energy you convey when you tell your story is the energy the person listening to you will receive. To start delivering a message that aligns with your skills, you first have to work on your narrative.
Phase 2 - Choose 💪🏽
Celebrate your victories and combat your automatic negative thoughts
Once we have a solid understanding of the origins, triggers, and have improved our internal narrative, it's time to shift our focus toward the "positive."
This phase involves actively choosing behaviors that help us internalize our achievements and let go of intrusive thoughts that lead us to believe our victories were due to luck.
The latter is challenging to achieve and requires practice. One tactic that can help a lot is "Labeling," commonly used in meditation. Whenever you sense an automatic negative thought, label it. This will help you become aware that you're falling into a negative pattern and enable you to break free from it.
Try to observe your negative thoughts from the passenger seat rather than the driver's seat, if possible.
Stablish borders
For both those who overwork and those who distance themselves excessively, it's essential to begin setting boundaries on these behaviors.
If "excessive preparation" is your issue, start by establishing time or responsibility limits. Saying "no" may be challenging, but it's necessary. You might feel that this new stance is narcissistic, but it's not. We're trying to protect your mental health and prevent you from reaching a point of burnout.
If "procrastination" is your ailment, begin by recalling the origin of your procrastination. Be humble about your fear, and start slowly, gradually increasing the time dedicated to the task that's affecting you.
Phase 3 - Build 👥
Embrace your new Professional Profile
Now that you've begun to change patterns and behaviors in your work, you may realize that you need to let go of old habits. Habits that, in some way, have led you to experience Impostor Syndrome.
It's crucial that in this new phase of your professional life, you learn to embrace your new professional profile. You've worked hard to start keeping this problem at bay, so don't give up 😊.
Try to build or find your community
Just like with many other ailments or syndromes, being part of a community can help you keep Impostor Syndrome in check and reinforce your efforts to overcome it.
Don't hesitate to seek support from those around you, mentors, or specialists (therapists). Do whatever it takes to ensure that all this work doesn't go to waste 💪🏽.
Conclusions 🙏🏼
You don’t overcome Impostor Syndrome, you learn how to deal with it differently
I don't want this statement to undermine your morale in any way; it's the one that has been giving me peace so far.
Perhaps being aware that it's not something you cure and it's done allows me not to fear relapses and to keep trying.
Having negative automatic thoughts is human, and wanting to change for the better is human too.
As Product Managers, we're subjected to a lot of pressure and responsibilities, and as we advance in our careers, these pressures can become increasingly suffocating.
Congratulations if you've recently started working on yourself, and best of luck if you're considering starting.
Acknowledgments 🙇🏽♂️
Material that has helped me to understand more about the subject and has made me start working on my own syndrome.
🇺🇸 I've Never Done That Before - Video
🇺🇸 Are you good enough to have Impostor Syndrome? - Article
🇺🇸 Russ ON: Toxic Masculinity, Music & Mental Health - Interview with Russ Vitale 100% recommended
🇺🇸 The Imposter Syndrome Paradox - Ted Talk de Lisa Orbe-Austin
🇺🇸 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Masterclass with Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin - Webinar
What a journey, right? If you've made it to the end, thank you so much! 🎉 🥳 One of the reasons I haven't published sooner is, well, my Impostor Syndrome.
Writing about something personal can be cathartic and positive, but at the same time, it's daunting, so it takes some effort.
All of this is definitely more practical than theoretical, but I hope you've captured the key points of the topic 😊.
💡 For my next post, I'll be sharing my experience working on an On-Site PM project and how my last two years of 100% remote work have changed the way I interact professionally face-to-face.
🦸🏽♂️ On September 27th, I'll be moderating a talk for the Product Led Alliance about the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on our product roadmaps. I'll keep you updated.
👨🏽💻 Starting in October, I'll be available for Interim PM projects. If you have one in mind, you know where to find me 😜.
Take care, and I'll see you next week!!
Jorge Herna
Great article, Jorge, showing your vulnerability. Especially aligned with your approach of starting with the root cause analysis. That's always the hardest part, isn't it?