Genius of Ted Lasso and It helped me manage my "Imposter Syndrome"

Genius of Ted Lasso and It helped me manage my "Imposter Syndrome"

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4 min read

Introduction

Having worked in IT for more than couple of decades - towards a better portion of the last few years, more so in the last year and half (post covid impact), I have been dealing with battling feeling of "Imposter syndrome", which is very prevalent when dealing with taking new assignments, dealing with new people, especially when you are required to use newer skills (technical or other) either as a role as an Individual contributor or while in management capacity in dealing with them.

Summary

Disclaimer - Needless to Say I am a huge fan of Ted Lasso. For readers who are not familiar with Ted Lasso - This is a web series on Apple TV about an American Football Coach who is hired to coach an soccer team in England. If you have not seen it, i sincerely encourage you to watch it. How Ted Lasso's attitude and learning is helping me manage my state is the crux of this article.

Audience

Did my research on this and found this is a common syndrome affecting quite a lot of people.

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Process

  • Recognizing and Acknowledging that you are in fact feeling this is a huge deal. Acceptance of this fact is the first step - This is one of the main character traits, attitude that appealed to me the most about Lasso. Imagine a random nobody thrown at a job he knows nothing of in an alien country. Acceptance of this and to Never take yourself too Seriously.
  • Be your BIGGEST FAN - Just like Lasso - Be your won Booster/Amplifier - Just like the old adage goes - "If you don't believe in your self, who else will.." Recognizing/Identify what is that you are lacking in and spend time to understand and what's required to turn that as your next strength. Make a plan on how to accomplish - Ask questions until it's clear - Half of the issue is understanding the problem - Solution to address will follow clearly soon after
  • Never Let go of your Goodness - Lasso was a master in it - Befriending you insecurities. Irrespective of how many were against him, He never strayed away from his Genuine strengths - Irrespective of how you are perceived Focus on your core strengths without shunning away your insecurities - Acknowledge them but focus on your core strengths/genuineness to approach any situation. Focus always on what you can

    GIVE....

  • Recognize everyone has something to offer - Lasso proved this time and again especially in case of Higgins and Nate. This applies to you as well. May be small to begin with but recognize it and build on. Be encouraging especially when receiving feed back with an honest approach to LEARN something new.
  • Do not be afraid to acknowledge and take HELP when needed - Lasso finally decided to get help from the counsellor - Do not shy away from getting external help when needed - Take Back Control on yourself, Attend local meetups to work around insecurities you may need help with - External activities / training, professional groups are some of the options that can be considered.

I am a strong proponent of a very Open team culture in work places. Building a culture that champions honesty, transparency and a healthy attitude toward failure are all keys to ending the epidemic of suffering in silence that imposter syndrome feeds. Cross training with mentors assigned to different teams who regularly checks, tracks progress and assess employees are great programs to be considered in companies. I have heard of awesome programs in @AirbnbEngineering regarding Peer-Peer training to address the needs mentioned above. More often there are some online trainings, open door policies that are encouraged which may not be effective in the long run if it's not held accountable and program effectively managed. Managers / tech leads need to be training in activities that help address these concerns and treated as part of the company's development plan activities and tied to performance reviews.

In summary - addressed a few ways i am managing with some help from Mr Lasso. Hope this in a small way allows others suffering to come forward and address them sooner than later.