What do you do if you're a geologist facing imposter syndrome in an executive role?

There are five central types of Imposter Syndrome. 1. The Natural Genius- This is when one doubts oneself when one doesn't get something right the first time based on natural intelligence. 2. The Expert- these persons are hard on themselves because they realize they don't know everything about a specific topic. 3. The Perfectionist- rob themselves from celebrating accomplishments because they were not 100% perfect. 4. The Superperson- feels like a failure unless they are rhe absolute best in whatever they do. 5. The Soloist- this person feels like a fraud if they had to ask for help to succeed. Imposter Syndrome centers around self doubt and a sense of being undeserving of success even when it is genuinely earned.

Uma das mais valiosas qualidades da nossa profissão corresponde ao fato de a geologia não ser uma ciência exata. Não que os números não sejam importantes, ou que as decisões não devam ser precisas, ou ainda, que os problemas devam ser resolvidos com qualidade. Não tem nada a ver com isso! A variabilidade de campos de atuação, o dinamismo dos dias de trabalho e dos projetos, e a volumosa interface que o geólogo(a) tem com várias outras áreas, faz com sejamos profissionais multidisciplinares. Essa variabilidade pode trazer insegurança, e isso é normal. Procure lidar com a insegurança por meio da busca pelo conhecimento. Nós geólogo(a) somos privilegiados por termos a capacidade de enxergar o mundo a nossa volta de forma abrangente.

Listening to others express their doubts without dismissing them is key. It is critical also that such persons are assured that Imposter Syndrome is more common than they may think and many highly successful individuals have navigated that experience during their journey. Help the person to articulate factually their accomplishments and support them in seeing from a very logical perspective that they have succeeded at key points in their life based on their efforts. Encourage them to acknowledge when aspects or symptoms of Imposter Syndrome arise and then, challenge them to counter those thoughts with the truth of their competencies, not in an egotistical or boastful manner but from a space of mindful acknowledgement of their skills.

Other factors to consider regarding this topic: 1. The socio-cultural inputs of a person's environmental can contribute to the impact of Imposter Syndrome. A confident, qualified and articulate person may be placed in a country where their age, race, gender, accent etc automatically alienates them and they no longer gain respect based on meritocracy but now have layers of biases to grapple with just to be heard. This can cause someone who never experienced Imposter Syndrome to face that phenomenon for the first time. This is why mindful placement and preparation of Talent prior to deployments or promotions is necessary. 2. The Syndrome can be managed with proper support and positive reinforcement, from both internal & external sources.