Driving to school the other day I saw this saying posted at our Church, "Faith It 'Till You Make It," This quote really made me stop and grab this image as a reminder that many of us in positions of leadership or as aspiring leaders often feel we are faking it and do not actually feel we deserve the positions we have earned, especially those of us who are women. A 1978 study by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes agrees as noted in this abstract from their work.
The term impostor phenomenon is used to designate an internal experience of intellectual phonies, which appears to be particularly prevalent and intense among a select sample of high achieving women. Certain early family dynamics and later introjection of societal sex-role stereotyping appear to contribute significantly to the development of the impostor phenomenon. Despite outstanding academic and professional accomplishments, women who experience the imposter phenomenon persists in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise. Numerous achievements, which one might expect to provide ample object evidence of superior intellectual functioning, do not appear to affect the impostor belief. Four factors, which contribute to the maintenance of impostor feelings over time, are explored. Therapeutic approaches found to be effective in helping women change the impostor self-concept are described.
Personally, I can relate to such feelings and can easily discount away my abilities, skills and acomplishments.
I am a French teacher but only took core French and am not really that great
I have a Master's degree in Peace and Conflict Studiees but I didn't get into the 'better, harder school' and only got in because it was in French (which by the way I was able to write all my papers in English so that also doesn't count)
I was one of the first teachers chosen to pilot our immersion program but very few applied...
and the list goes on...
But what if we had something more as female spiritual leaders? We do! We have faith. Instead of 'faking it' let's be ourselves and use faith to help light out way.
An everyday real life "idol" to me is our Waterloo Catholic Director, Loretta Notten. She exudes confidence, capability, calmness and class. She made many meaningful points during her eloquent presntation to the PQP II group like when she claimed, "People want you to succeed." When I first began teaching I had much self-doubt and insecurity and would often imagine what colleagues thought. Every time I made a mistake, I would imagine them judging and thinking I was incapable. This was a very pessimistic, destructive and (often) unfounded mindset. These worries led to actions of overcompensation and ingenuinity. I did not have faith.
As a leader, Ms. Notten is a genuine leader who easily transfers herself between home and life as an authentic person. I am currently working on being as authentic as I can. As the math lead teacher I recently presented to the staff at our professional development day. Obviously as someone who has only taught math for mere months, I felt like an imposture, only this time, inspired by our authentic leader, I made this humbly clear as I shared in a process of co-learning. I am pleased to say that our work was very well received and I can attribute it to a tapping into my own gifts and being as authentic as I could be with secret weapon of faith tucked into my back pocket. With more confidence and the experience of time, I am graced with the humility I need to make clear decisions that are not coloured and skewed by the imagined opoinions of others.
Here is my math equation for faith success:
Experience + Time + Trust in God and the universe opening up to me = Faith in my own future
When we move into leadership or into a new role, a class, a school, a grade, it is often a leap - A leap of faith. I think that if we keep the faith (I'm using all the faith quotes) we will have more confidence to trust in ourselves and our decisions as Catholic leaders. If I don't have faith in myself, my staff, and what they bring to the students and children, it means I do not have faith in the future.
In the end, George Michael said it best, "We gotta have faith." The blanket of my faith in what I am doing and who I am and this will keep me safe and warm during difficult days of decisions.
The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention Pauline Rose Clance & Suzanne Imes Georgia State University University Plaza Atlanta, Georgia 30303 http://www.paulineroseclance.com/pdf/ip_high_achieving_women.pdf
Here is my math equation for faith success:
Experience + Time + Trust in God and the universe opening up to me = Faith in my own future
When we move into leadership or into a new role, a class, a school, a grade, it is often a leap - A leap of faith. I think that if we keep the faith (I'm using all the faith quotes) we will have more confidence to trust in ourselves and our decisions as Catholic leaders. If I don't have faith in myself, my staff, and what they bring to the students and children, it means I do not have faith in the future.
In the end, George Michael said it best, "We gotta have faith." The blanket of my faith in what I am doing and who I am and this will keep me safe and warm during difficult days of decisions.
The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention Pauline Rose Clance & Suzanne Imes Georgia State University University Plaza Atlanta, Georgia 30303 http://www.paulineroseclance.com/pdf/ip_high_achieving_women.pdf
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