INDUSTRY INSIGHT Imposter Syndrome 26 November 2021 By Jade Lowe Senior Event Manager I’m not the greatest at creative writing, something I’m sure my GCSE English teacher would confirm. Whenever it comes round to my turn for the Industry Led blog post, I find myself searching all the industry magazines and blogs for something inspiring to write about, but end up covering the generic topics of sustainability or tech. Not that they aren’t important aspects of the industry, but they aren’t the thought provoking topics I intend to write about. However, this time around I stumbled across an article that made me stop in my tracks because it’s something that has become far too familiar to me since the pandemic… Imposter Syndrome. Imposter Syndrome was first discovered in the late 1970s after a study carried out by Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes. Although primarily experienced by women and racial minorities, anyone can suffer from it, with it causing feelings of self doubt around capabilities and competence in the workplace, often comparing ourselves to others that we feel are performing better than us. Sounding familiar? Event professionals often suffer from Imposter Syndrome, with the industry being high pressured and requiring us to make big decisions that could affect a whole project, but add the pandemic into the mix and there’s an entire new area of work to worry about. Like most event professionals, I’ve found myself basically starting a new job, yet I remain in the same role as before the pandemic and need to deliver the same standards of service to clients despite a whole new world of events I’ve never had to navigate before. No matter how long you’ve been in the industry, we’ve all had to learn new skills and develop new ways of working in a world that is more challenging than ever, leaving us feeling inadequate and second guessing ourselves. Questions of doubt have flooded my brain for the last 18 months; Can I do this? Am I worthy of a senior position anymore? What happens if I don’t deliver what’s expected of me? The more I read about imposter syndrome in the events industry, the more I realised it’s what has been plaguing me and that I’m not the only one that’s been suffering from it since Covid threw us into the world of virtual and digital events. But how can we change this narrative in our heads and stop holding ourselves back? To start with, it requires being honest with yourself about what you find challenging and do something about it. Whether that’s additional training, asking for help from colleagues or even speaking to your senior management team about adding people to your team with skill sets that the company could find useful. Secondly, try to concentrate on the positive feedback and praise you’ve received and the new skills you have learnt that are adding value to your team - it’ll make you realise a lot of what you’re feeling is in your head and let you separate fact from fiction. Finally, just try not to be so hard on yourself! Understand that you’re human and that no one is capable of everything, ask for help when you need it and if you do make mistakes, learn from them instead of beating yourself up! Now I just need to go and take some of my own advice! MORE FROM Jade Lowe 23 September 2021 Taste of London: Festive Edition 21 May 2021 The Top 10 Sustainable Destinations of 2021 11 March 2021 Burgers and Bevvies in the park WE RECOMMEND It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas WE RECOMMEND A glimpse of Japan (in London) Tintagel House 92 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TY +44 (0) 203 828 0470 Sign up to our quarterly newsletter Privacy Policy © 2021 All Rights Reserved Brand Brewery Ltd | Cookie Policy