There’s a Monster Under My Suit: Listening to Impostor Syndrome as a Signal of Growth

Afternoon Breakout Session

Impostor syndrome is often treated as something to overcome, silence, or fix. In higher education, women are frequently encouraged to build confidence, gather credentials, or “push through” doubt as a sign of professionalism or readiness. But what if that framing is incomplete?

This session invites participants into a different conversation.

Drawing from There’s a Monster Under My Suit: An Illustrated Guide to Adult Fears and Impostor Syndrome, this interactive workshop reframes impostor syndrome not as a diagnosis or flaw, but as a signal that often appears at the edge of growth. These inner narratives tend to surface not when we are failing, but when we are stepping into new roles, new visibility, or new forms of leadership. When something meaningful is at stake.

Using monster metaphors as a reflective language, participants will explore how impostor thoughts, perfectionism, and comparison function as messengers rather than enemies. Instead of rushing to reframe or silence these voices, the session emphasizes slowing down, listening with curiosity, and understanding what these signals are protecting or responding to.

Participants will engage with short narrative excerpts and visual metaphors from the book, followed by guided reflection modeled after the book’s “Monster Notes.” The focus is not on fixing oneself, but on developing awareness, self-trust, and psychological safety during moments of change.

This session creates space to examine how unexamined fear can quietly shape decisions, behaviors, and boundaries — and how naming these experiences can reduce shame and foster connection. It also invites participants to consider the legacy they model for others: what it looks like to lead, mentor, and grow without armor.

At its core, this workshop supports women in higher education in advancing the whole self by honoring uncertainty as part of becoming, not evidence of inadequacy.