An MMA Smash-down on Imposter Syndrome!

In my last article, I mentioned the success rate of the strategies I created for companies. Someone messaged me and challenged my statement as a lie- commenting that it is impossible to have that level of success. 

Before reading the message, I watched a Joe Rogan clip about UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor's final press conference, where Khabib claimed to a room stacked with McGregor fans that he would destroy Conor.

What gives someone that level of confidence - to make such a bold statement as

"Tomorrow night, I'm gonna smash your boy, guys."

Could it be a track record based on experience, expertise and evidence? Khabib's confidence was for a good reason: he dominated the fight until winning by submission in Round 4.

So- what makes it possible for me to confidently and courageously put a number out there? My "little red books."

What is your little red book? Well, thank you for asking!

Every December since 2011, one of my mentors requires me to complete a year-in-review activity. The activity is a version of a process evaluation with a mix of Start/Stop/Continue or a new reflective discipline to keep track of my professional growth. 

The process includes

1. Writing a one-page summary for every goal or objective in an annual plan.
2. Documenting the steps taken to try and reach each goal.
3. Gathering quarterly progress reports, including actual (sales numbers, scores, survey statistics, numeric data) and intangible (client testimonials, praise reports, recognition certificates) documents.
4. Evaluating success not only using a SMART approach but also using the STAR system.

By the end of the year, we would use the information to pinpoint what worked, where is room for improvement, and what processes or procedures maximized my output. Over the years, I've filled multiple 4" three-ring red binders with evidence of my successes.

Why red?

When I was a student, teachers would mark tests with a red pen. This might mean little to you if you were a grade A or B student. But for someone like me, who, until Grade 11, was an abysmal student (GPA of 54%). Getting back a test that measured my intelligence on boring subjects created severe anxiety whenever I saw the colour red. Because I saw it too often, I was not too fond of that colour. The feeling could be described as I hated it with perfect hatred!

So, when I started working with my mentor, they realized that I needed to redefine my affiliation with the colour and combat the trauma of the dreaded RED PEN. Hence, my red binders.

Defining your evidence and system for confidence building.

We are all familiar with the SMART approach to goal setting. But, my mentor introduced me to STAR to deepen my definition of success and build confidence.

Start by describing a Situation or Task, then the Action you took to accomplish the goal, and finally outline the Results achieved. 

We modified our version of STAR to incorporate additional evaluation criteria with questions such as

1. Did I learn something new?
2. How do I know I learnt something new?
3. Can I improve upon what I learnt?
4. What steps could I take to improve the skill?
5. Did the skill help someone I care about?
6. Did the output highlight a deficiency, area of improvement, or opportunity? 
7. Did I do something to help minimize the identified deficiencies?
8. How many people did it impact?
9. Are those people happy with the impact?
10. Would I do it again if I had the chance?
11. Did it challenge me?
12. Did it stretch my brain or character to be a better person?

Numbers matter, don't get me wrong. I'm a big believer in tracking tangible success. But what else is on the scoring system?

Since 2011, I've led many teams and colleagues through a year-in-review activity. Sometimes, we don't hit our identified quantifiable target. But when you notice triple the number of innovations and initiatives gained by learning through failure, it shifts your definition of accomplishment.

For example, Sir Alexander Fleming, a Scottish researcher credited for discovering penicillin in 1928, often described as a careless lab technician, said: "One sometimes finds what one is not looking for. When I woke up just after dawn on Sept. 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic or bacteria killer. But I guess that was exactly what I did."

Failure is a fabulously divine teacher when reframed as a learning experience. Picture it, in 5 years, will that 80% target matter? Maybe, maybe not. At the end of the day, are you learning? Are you growing? Are you getting one step closer to being a better version of yourself? Or are you further away?

All I know is that "my little red book" often helps me grab that little devil Imposter Syndrome by the throat and puts it in a submission choke hold MMA style - silencing it and all its supporters, like doubters, fear-mongers, and any other spectator too scared to get into the cage of life. 

Consider developing your method of creating a little red book of success. The colour doesn't matter as long as it represents overcoming your traumas of failure to reframe it as learning and growth. Then fill it with your markers of success! So when imposters and haters slide into your DM as a spectator, your confidence is as evident as Khabib's undefeated record!

#impostersyndrome #confidence #believeinyourself #performance #learninganddevelopment