The Paradox of Imposter Feelings

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Adam Grant: Why do we have to turn this imposter feeling into a syndrome? He says it's actually beneficial that when you feel like an imposter, you work longer and treat other people more respectfully because you realize you don't know everything. Grant: I think what I would tell anybody who's grappling with imposter thoughts is if multiple people believe in you, they're more objective than you are, it's probably a good time to believe in yourself. Adam Grant: There's a chart in the book called confidence on one axis and confidence on the other. You've got this imposter syndrome space but right through the middle is your confident humility zone.

How to manage procrastination according to Margaret Atwood, how to work around your first-instinct fallacy, the upsides of imposter syndrome, the best way to avoid falling prey to the Dunning-Kruger effect, how to avoid thinking like a preacher, prosecutor, or politician so you can think like a scientist instead – and that’s just the beginning of the conversation in this episode with psychologist, podcast host, and author Adam Grant.

In the show, we discuss both his new book – Think Again: The Power of Knowing What you Don’t Know – and his TED Original Podcast, WorkLife, in which he interviewed Margaret Atwood, the author of The Handmaid’s Tale, to learn how she deals with the constant allure of social media and streaming videos in a future where giving in to procrastination is easier than it has ever been.

In the show, you’ll hear portions of that interview followed by a lengthy interview with Grant about his new book in this all-over-the-place, extensive exploration of how to rethink your own thinking.

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