Growing up, the Disney movie of Aladdin was (and likely is still) my favorite cartoon movie. For those who haven't seen the original cartoon (Robin Williams at his best), the Broadway play (meh), and the live-action film with Will Smith (Surprisingly good), it's about an orphan young man who is living on the street. Since the original movie came out in 1992, I'm less concerned about giving away spoilers. A crucial moment is toward the end where Aladdin has promised Genie, he would free him by using his last wish. However, the pressure of trying to woo Princess Jasmine by being a prince gets to Aladdin, and he reneges on his promise. The irony, and what Genie tells him, is that Jasmine is in love with Aladdin because of him being himself, not the fact that he's a "prince."
Incidentally, a new issue has cropped in the professional development lexicon. This phase is "Imposter Syndrome." This term is being used to describe those feelings folks might think that their success isn't because of their actions; it's due more to luck. The two doctors, Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Ime, who coined the term defined it as "the idea that you've only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications" in a paper they wrote in the '70s according to a Times article. Clance and Ime developed this phrase to help describe some feelings women were having in regards to their success.
This term has grown to apply to both men and women, but widely gets talked about unrepresented populations. In information security, this has become a topic du juror. As leaders, this is a compelling topic. Given the focus on the security industry being short-handed by several million folks, this genuine syndrome can affect those populations we need to bring in. It starts with recognizing the signs in others as well as ourselves. We can use this to likely build real relationships through which we can coach and develop.
A writer named Dr. Valerie Young has distinguished between five different categories of the various ways these feelings can manifest. They are The Perfectionist, The Superwoman/man, The Natural Genius, The Soloist, and The Expert. According to this Fast Company article and its summary of the various types, I would suggest that I fall into The Natural Genius typing. The definition of "The Natural Genius" is that "they judge their competence based ease and speed as opposed to their efforts. In other words, if they take a long time to master something, they feel shame." While this sounds like the perfectionist type, people who fall into this type can find that learning new things more straightforward than others. This ability can be exercised without a lot of additional work on their part.
So, I should explain why I think this syndrome matters as one of the things security leaders face. Given our field changes quickly, the folks involved are some of the brightest and smartest people in any industry, it is easy to feel like you are as good as some of the others in the room. For me, education has mostly been effortless. I've always been a bookworm, and so most of the topics covered in school, I had either read a book (more like several) on the subject, so it facilitates my learning. Naturally, this leads to tension with my teachers, especially in high school, because I would have preferred to take the tests and the classes on a pass/fail rather than do the homework. I want to say I've mostly grown out of this phase, but there are still things I feel are "busy work" I may try to avoid.
However, as my career progress, and I've taken on more leadership roles, I've found myself doubting my abilities. This doubt has ranged from "am I technical enough?" to "am I likable enough?" especially if I was wrong or missed a vital point. But as I think through it and the cause of the lack of confidence, it is this feeling that I have been lucky to get where I am at, not that I earn my place at the table.
As leaders, we need to understand our biases, strengths, and weaknesses when it comes to building our teams, influencing our organizations, or making decisions in general. If a leader has imposter syndrome, this can lead them to continue trying to prove they are smartest in the room or trusting the recommendation of the team. This can create toxicity within the organization, both within the security organization, and the broader organization at large. Being able to recognize it in your team can help because this can create tension within the group if people are overcompensating because of this issue. As security professionals and leaders, we can't forget the emotional side of developing and leading a team.
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