When You Don't Know It All

Embracing impostor syndrome in the face of change.

Last week, I had the pleasure of serving as a mentor during Girl Geek X’s ELEVATE conference. Our mentor table was designated as the “Leadership in Tech” table. However, we covered many topics that also apply outside of tech.

One question (paraphrased) was “What do I do if I don’t know it all?” This was in the context of moving from a long-tenured position to a new one or even to a new company.

Knowledge begets confidence, and it can be scary to move away from this security to start down a new path. For me, not knowing how to answer this question held me back for a very long time.

Throughout my career, I spent the most time at Pinger. I was the first QA Engineer and the 10th employee of the company. Over 15 years, I built out the quality engineering team from 1 (me) to over 30. I hired and trained QA engineers, automation engineers, interns, and offshore resources.

During this time, I became a keeper of company history and product knowledge, and the go-to person for questions like “Who remembers why we did x instead of y?” I knew everyone in the company, and my team worked on every product and project.

To think about leaving, to go somewhere where I wouldn’t know anyone and I would have zero company/product history was terrifying. Without the confidence from years of stored knowledge and history, it seemed obvious to me that anyone I worked with would think I didn’t know what I was doing. Hello, Impostor Syndrome!

Drawing from my experience when leaving Pinger, and the challenges I faced in overcoming my own fears, I've gathered some strategies that might help anyone embarking on a new phase in their career.

Now, let's explore some practical steps you can take. How do you muster the courage to leap into a new role or company, especially when you're starting from scratch in terms of knowledge and connections?

First, let’s recognize that none of us actually knows it all. We can’t know everything, and as Adam Grant points out in Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know, we usually don’t even know what exactly it is that we don’t know. We can only acknowledge that we don’t know everything, and do our best to recognize and fill in the gaps when needed. (Also, wouldn’t it be quite boring if you could never learn anything new for the rest of your life? That’s what knowing everything would really mean!)

If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.

Adam Grant, Think Again.

I was ready to move on from Pinger, but as I mentioned, I was terrified of losing that knowledge and confidence. I felt that was my superpower, and it was so ingrained into my identity that I forgot about all my other wonderful skills and talents.

Reading Grant’s book was a pivotal moment in my life. I was able to start separating my identity and self-worth from my history with Pinger. I realized that I didn’t know it all. Once I accepted that I already didn’t know everything, moving to another company became less scary. Furthermore, I was able to look at it as a growth opportunity. If I had learned all there was for me to learn at Pinger, maybe it was time to move on and start learning again.

So when my next career opportunity showed up, I decided to take the plunge and move to a new company. To be clear, it was still terrifying, but it was also exciting and motivating.

The first upside to feeling like an impostor is that it can motivate us to work harder.

Adam Grant, Think Again.

If you’re in the same spot, and these fears are holding you back, or if you’re in a new position and struggling, here are some tips on how to gain confidence and knowledge in your new role:

• Breathe. Remember, you’re new, and no one expects you to know everything or even most things. There’s typically an onboarding period; this is your time to ramp up.

• Relationship Building. Get to know not only your boss and your team but your peers. Seek out people who might know the things you’re interested in knowing. If you’re a manager or leader, this will be others reporting to your boss, and others at the same level in other departments. For example, at my last job, I was hired as Head of Quality Engineering, so I got to know my team (the people reporting to me), my direct boss, his boss, the division GM, the head of Customer Support for the division, customer support people who were working in a product quality/feedback guild, other engineering leads/managers, and QE leads in other divisions.

• Beginner’s Mindset. A beginner’s mindset can allow you to see things in new ways and challenge assumptions. Use this to your advantage as you learn about your new role and company, and the way things are done. Tread lightly here though, as not everyone will welcome a fresh/new perspective.

• Ask Questions. When you don’t know something, ask! In my experience, people are more than happy to help out, and chances are, you’re not the only one with that question.

• Look for Gaps. As you start building your new knowledge base, look for gaps, and ways to fill them.

• Teach Someone. One of the best ways to learn new a concept is to teach it to someone else. Find someone you can not only explain what you’ve learned but hopefully teach them the information too. This is a win-win as you’ll be helping someone else learn as well.

• Celebrate. When something good happens, celebrate! Whether it’s a compliment from a (new) colleague, or finally feeling like you understand certain things in your new role, record the win and celebrate it! I like to keep a document where I jot down any compliments, wins, or other milestones. When the impostor feelings creep in, these are great reminders that you are worthy.

I hope these tips help you navigate and embrace changes in your career. Reflecting on this journey, I realize how far I've come in understanding and managing impostor syndrome. I can’t say I conquered it completely, but I used it to embrace change, fuel my desire for learning and growth in my new role, and guess what? I quickly made connections, felt welcomed, and started becoming a source of knowledge for my team.

And now, as I chart a path for my next big adventure, potentially going into unknown territory, I’m still afraid, but this time, I have confidence that the impostor is just that, an impostor, and not truly who I am.

Impostor syndrome hits us all, especially when starting new roles. It's not about never doubting yourself, but about how you handle those doubts. Remember, everyone starts as a beginner at some point.

So, what do I do when I don’t know it all? I now recognize the fallacy of that question, and instead ask myself, what do I need to know? And then I breathe and make a plan.

I'm eager to know: How do you deal with impostor syndrome? Is it holding you back or pushing you to grow?

Until next time,

Brie

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