39: Dealing with Imposter Syndrome in the Product Management Space

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Chelsea Alexander-Taylor (Redfin) and Jonathan Pappas (Connect the Dots) to talk about how PMs struggle with imposter syndrome often at the early stages of their career. A lot of new PMs find it difficult to adjust in a new role, a new working space, or in a new organization. And it doesn’t help that they are expected to overperform and carry with them experiences they currently don’t have. As product leaders, how can we create a safe space where confidence is boosted and psychological safety is prioritized?  Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW. What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 09:51 The imposter syndrome in tech and in product 12:31 Becoming an imposter in the early days of your career 19:10 Never point fingers, always assume the responsibility 24:04 Why psychological safety matters 29:46 Helping and empowering women in the PM space 35:29 Ways to allow and encourage a safe space  39:00 What can you do to deal with imposter syndrome? 44:15 Conversations on Twitter 50:11 Not all self-doubt is bad 52:25 Find communities where you can share your experience