Even NASA engineers feel like they’re imposters. Maureen Zappala certainly did. As a 22-year-old recent college graduate, she landed a “dream job” as a project engineer in the Propulsion Systems Laboratory at a NASA research center. One of her first tasks was to simply observe a test launch. As she sat in the back, she started hiccupping uncontrollably – and everyone in the room (all male) turned around and looked at her.

Maureen Zappala, author and speaker

“Oh my gosh was I scared to death,” she recalled thinking when she started. “This is NASA. I don’t belong.”

Of course, she did. Zappala proved her worth and engineered a successful career that included being promoted to director of the NASA complex. But the nagging feeling of not being worthy enough led Zappala to become a speaker and author tackling “imposter syndrome.” And in her keynote speech on Monday at this year’s PPAI Expo (taking place January 9-12 in Las Vegas), she helped attendees identify those feelings and gave them “fraud-free framework” strategies to help them overcome those negative feelings.

Unfamiliar with imposter syndrome? It’s that irrational, chronic self-doubt – the inability to internalize your success. It causes you to feel incompetent and afraid. “Imposter syndrome isn’t a lack of confidence,” clarified Zappala. “Instead, it’s a limit of confidence.” And it’s amplified most in times of transition or when you’re trying something new and unfamiliar.

It even has roots in the world of diversity and inclusion. “Anytime you feel like you don’t think, act or dress like the people around you, you feel like you don’t fit in,” she said. “And that’s the petri dish for imposter syndrome.”

How to overcome it? Zappala shared three of five strategies with attendees: Recognize It, Reverse It and “Re-People” It.  She described many symptoms that show your imposter syndrome in action: overpreparation, procrastination, being the superhero (having to prove you can do it all yourself) or having a fear of either failure or success. “You think ‘I got this [promotion, sales win, etc.] for another reason” than your own merits, she said. “You disdain the success, you explain it away.”

Once you’ve identified the feeling, do something different to counteract it. Nudge past your limit and push the envelope. “When you nudge and push, I promise you on the other side of that nudge is your transformation,” she said.

She encouraged attendees to create a circle with their hands and imagine their sense of worth as a “dot” and remember that it’s not smaller or worse than anybody else’s.

“Do battle with your imposter,” she concluded. “It is worth it. Because behind that imposter mask is somebody who’s resilient, intelligent and confident.”

Here were some other highlights from the conference day:

• Dr. James Pogue gave an illuminating talk on diversity, inclusion and bias (DIBs). After establishing some agreed-upon definitions and language, he unveiled an assessment model where people can fall into five categories for any type of diversity: hesitant, discomfort, investigating, experimenting and engaging. You get to be where you are, he said, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But “you have to decide if you want to be something different. Do you want to be a different kind of leader?” He urged the audience to build their diversity acumen as a differentiator and driver of productivity, and set boundaries to have uncomfortable conversations that can lead to positive change. “If you want to win,” he said, “having more diversity acumen than the person next to you is the pathway to getting there.”
• Taylor Borst, director of events, marketing and public relations for Top 40 distributor American Solutions for Business (asi/120075) and Mykayla Goodwin, VP of strategy at Order My Gear, covered strategies on attracting and retaining millennial and Gen Z employees and customers. It’s no secret that younger employees change jobs more often – 8 years and 6 years in a role for boomers and Gen Xers, respectively – compared to under 3 years for their younger counterparts. While it’s true that careers are more non-linear for these generations, “it’s about more roles,” Goodwin said. “It doesn’t mean working at more companies.” To retain young talent, companies should be giving them development opportunities and finding room for roles and growth that accentuate their young employees’ strengths.
• Vicky Ostrom, a futurist and trend analyst for Top 40 supplier SanMar (asi/84863), also tackled the theme of generations by exploring sensibilities and consumer habits for different age groups, and then translating them into product ideas and trends. She unveiled four major themes for 2023: nostalgia, home, travel and health. “All generations are invested in these themes,” she said. “They just interpret them differently.” For example, Gen Xers are becoming increasingly focused on health and are engaging in wellness travel, while boomers were led to rethink their time during the pandemic and are seeking out bucket list trips.