The golden period for jigsaw puzzling imposters

Three months into a new role is a milestone. My first probationary period review is in the diary. It’s a time to reflect on the supposedly golden “first 100 days”.

It's been about 85 days since I started at Hospice UK, but only around 55-60 working days, give or take a couple of days annual leave and bank holidays. And I make the point because I’ve intentionally resisted the urge to ‘just do that one little task’ at the weekends and on days off. Of course I’ve thought about work at the weekend and, yes, jotted down ideas for Monday morning. Because your best ideas tend to come when you're not at your desk, right? But, I talked on a previous blog post about the benefits of taking a proper, extended break from work. So, I’m trying hard to listen to my own advice and keep a work/life balance that means I’ll bring my best to Hospice UK and enjoy time with family, friends and hobbies.

So, how have the first 3 months been? Starting any new role is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. A new role in a new organisation in a new sector means finding a lot of pieces! I don’t have them all yet, and I'm not sure anyone ever gets all the pieces do they? Some of the pieces I've found, I still don't fully understand. It's like they're blue, but they could be sea or sky. Well, thanks to supportive new colleagues, I’ve been able to quickly get a sense of the overall picture.

In a new role, it's fairly common for people to feel 'imposter syndrome'. We feel we should have all those pieces of the puzzle on day one. There’s potential for added imposter syndrome pressure when someone has done the job before you. You think the last person had all the puzzle pieces so why don't you? There’s an expectation from colleagues that you’ll do all the ‘good’ things the previous person did and none of the ‘bad’ things (i.e. you’ll say yes to them when the previous person said no). I’ve had a touch of imposter syndrome in previous roles, but refreshingly not so much with this role. I think a few things have helped:

• The role is new, with a new title. This means the organisation wants the role to be different. It also means I can shape the role to some extent, which is a fortunate position to be in and something I really enjoy.

• I’ve set expectations with new colleagues that I see the role as being different to any previous comparable one. I have different skills and a different remit.

• I think I was clear during recruitment what I would and wouldn’t expect to be doing. For example, I'm a lot less technically hands-on these days and if I'm going to focus on strategy and programme delivery, I'll need to resist the temptation to install, configure, trouble-shoot etc. (Side note: I always advise people that are job-seeking that they are checking out the organisation during the recruitment process and they should walk away if something isn’t quite right. I had another really good job offer at the same as the Hospice UK one but turned it down because it wasn’t quite right.)

• I have a better understanding of my own motivations, preferences, tendencies and capabilities than ever before.

This last point is worth expanding on. I've become more confident by being more self-aware. I'm more confident about my strengths and weaknesses, my capacity and capability, than ever before. That doesn’t mean that I'll only do things that I know are within my capability. Far from it. It means I'm more able to spot the gaps in my knowledge or skills, and devise a plan for filling those gaps. I know where I'll need to stretch myself. And by confident, I don't mean bragging or being brash. Those who know me well, will definitely not see me like that.

I also think imposter syndrome has something to do with worrying about the unknown.

"As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know." - Donald Rumsfeld, former US Secretary of Defence

Perhaps the more unknowns you know about, the more confident and less of an imposter, you're going to feel. However you come to understand yourself, whether this just happens with age and experience, or through coaching or other professional support, it will really help you to avoid feeling like an imposter in a new situation. Remember that you were successful in the recruitment process and that wasn't luck.

So, coming back to my jigsaw puzzle. It's been relatively straightforward to understand the current Hospice UK IT picture. I've also been able to offer a vision of where we could and should be. This is the next jigsaw to work on! We need to modernise and, fortunately, everyone agrees. So, in a fairly short space of time, I've been able to piece together a high level IT modernisation plan, get that plan approved by my senior colleagues and our Board, and start to implement it. The implementation plan covers:

• Recruitment. A priority because I need a team to deliver the changes.

• Project and IT governance.

• Supplier discussions and procurement.

• Infrastructure changes - Microsoft 365, devices, cloud, office changes etc.

• Business systems changes - CRM, Finance, HR etc.

• Training and communication.

There will no doubt be bumps in the road ahead, but it feels like a pretty good first 100 days.

As a qualified coach, I can help you to be more self-aware and confident in your abilities and address work challenges. Reach out if you'd like to discuss coaching with me. I offer career/work coaching for people in any role. I am able to offer a blend of coaching and mentoring for people in IT and change roles, particularly managers or aspiring managers.

I am currently able to offer sessions free of charge - contact me via LinkedIn or Twitter

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