Many professionals experience imposter syndrome in some form, at all stages of their careers. I certainly have.
For many people, feelings of self-doubt often emerge in group discussions at work. There’s the voice that says:
- I’m not qualified to express an opinion here…
- My teammates are so much smarter than me on this topic, I have nothing to contribute…
- Or the constant debate: What am I allowed to say – should I or shouldn’t I say this?
- What if people reject my ideas?
Has this happened to you? And when it does, do you tighten up, or feel as if you’ve walked into a fog, unable to articulate your way through to make your point?
As a result, you speak less frequently, or not at all. At the end of the meeting, you chide yourself, wishing you had spoken up and shared what YOU know about the subject matter.
What if you tried approaching this differently? Instead of stating your opinion, ask some good questions.
Asking great questions can provide a means of sharing your knowledge and research, in a less intimidating way – for you and your team. It can open up fresh ways of thinking that your team has not explored before.
- How can we test these ideas on the new product?
- I’m curious to understand how we can integrate this best practice into our digital marketing strategy?
- What can we do differently to implement this approach?
It can also invite further conversation around a topic that’s more disarming than a debate over who’s got the best idea.
Or use the conversation as a test bench for how your ideas might serve the greater goals of the team. This turns the conversation towards the team, rather than being all about you.
What do you think?
Related Resources:
The Art of Asking Great Questions (Harvard Business Review)
The Power of Psychological Safety in Distributed Work (Dropbox)
