Launch Event
Event Overview
Promoting Academic Women will be officially launched in July 2022, at the University Club at the Sandy Bay Campus, University of Tasmania.
Our guest speaker is Associate Professor Terri Simpkin from the College of Business and Economics, at UTAS. Terri will deliver an interactive workshop on Imposter Phenomenon.
This is a free lunchtime event.
When: 12.30pm to 2.00pm, Wednesday 20 July 2022
Where: University Club at the University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay Campus
How to join the in-person event: Event registration details will be emailed to everyone on the Promoting Academic Women mailing list. Not on the list yet? No problem. Sign up to the mailing list to find out about events and resources.
Online option: Can’t join us in-person? No problem. We will also be running an online version with Terri on Friday 29 July (12.30pm to 2.00pm). Details will be emailed to everyone on the mailing list.
Guest Speaker
Associate Professor Terri Simpkin
Hardly a day goes by without the popular press delivering stories on the impostor syndrome; the feeling of being a fraud in one’s own role despite evidence to the contrary.
Often identified as a ‘woman’s thing’ or an affliction that besets us all at some point, pithy lists of actions billed as ‘cures’ cheerily decry that if one just thinks happy thoughts or relishes one’s own achievements the inexplicable feeling of fraudulence will magically dissolve away, and all will be well in the world. Happy days.
Sadly, much of what is written about the ‘impostor syndrome’ is myth or misdirection. Even the name is misleading.
So, what IS it, then?
Join Associate Professor Terri Simpkin as she pulls apart the fantasy and delivers the facts on a feeling that far from being a personal issue to resolve, has its roots in social learning and is often perpetuated by workplace structures and systems.
Indicative Content
This short workshop is designed for individuals. The ‘introductory’ session identifies what the impostor phenomenon (IP) is (and what it is not!) providing a straightforward overview of how it manifests at work and in one’s personal life. The session is designed to highlight the intricacies of the experience and why it can be difficult to counter by unpicking the myth from emerging understanding of the experience.
Indicative development outcomes:
Attendees will:
Gain clarity about what the IP is (and what it is not) and how it is manifested in behaviour and thought habits in the self particularly at work.
Identify the broad implications of the IP on the individual and those around them (personally and professionally) by looking briefly at the cyclical nature of IP experiences.
Identify and appraise the impacts and implications of impostor experiences and workplace consequences (e.g. fear of failure, lack of engagement, anxiety and burnout, career stagnation).
Briefly, identify ways of diminishing IP experiences.
About Terri
Terri is an Associate Professor in Management and MBA Director at the University of Tasmania. She has enjoyed a broad international career in the education sector as an academic and manager as well as private sector leadership in human resources, strategy and business management.
Having worked internationally with governments, industry associations, large organisations and SMEs for two decades she is a current consultant to industry and has become known as a research informed, practice lead academic particularly regarding complex challenges facing contemporary workforces now and into the future.
Terri was named as one of the 50 most influential women in the data economy for her work on digital infrastructure sector workforce challenges and was awarded the Brynn Fowler Agent of Change award by Global Women in Telco and Tech for her work advancing inclusion and diversity both in and outside of the workplace. She was also named in the 2020 IMasons 100 Awards for her work in developing leadership development in the global Digital Infrastructure sector.
Continuing her academic interest into the topic, she is known as an authority on the impostor phenomenon reflecting her professional interest in contemporary inclusion practices and global workforce challenges.
She is a dedicated (some say tragic) Duran Duran fan and devotee of the late Sir Terry Pratchett. Her lectures on topics such as leadership, diversity and inclusion in the Discworld novels have been sell out successes at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas among other fora.
Learn more about Terri’s work on leadership, the impostor phenomenon and the Essex Girl motif among other topics.