TechLead Conference

TechLead Conference 2023

Imposter syndrome is a common experience that can lead to self-doubt and feeling like a fraud. The speaker shares their personal journey with imposter syndrome in school and throughout their career in software development. They discuss the challenges and doubts they faced, as well as the strategies they used to overcome imposter syndrome. The importance of support from managers, celebrating achievements, and sharing experiences to help others are highlighted. The talk emphasizes the need to embrace imposter syndrome and use it as a motivator for personal growth.

“Maybe I’m fooling everyone… I’m not good enough for this, and at this point, it is a question of time until everyone figures it out” these might be the words that cross your mind as your coworker compliments you for doing another fantastic job at delivering a new feature. As you grow in your career, so does your uncertainty. You put in the extra hours, learn all the new technologies, and join all the initiatives you can, but at the end of the day, it never feels enough. At this point, that feeling is leading your actions and decisions. It is the thing that is driving your career. Only one question persists: Are you really an imposter?

Imposter Syndrome-Driven Development

Daniel Afonso

TechLead Conference 2024

In this Talk, the speaker discusses the importance of effective leadership and maintaining well-being. They present a prioritization framework for task management, using the analogy of three types of threads: glass, bead, and rubber. Glass threads represent critical tasks that require personal attention, while bead threads can be managed collaboratively. The speaker emphasizes the need for delegation and empowering team members to take on leadership roles. They also highlight the importance of self-care and mental health in avoiding burnout.

Leading With Passion & Balance

Naz Delam

Cognitive load is the amount of available memory and cognitive resources a person has, and cognitive overload occurs when the load exceeds what can be sustained. Various factors, including disabilities and external factors like stress, can affect cognitive load. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impact cognitive load differently, and instructional design can help reduce cognitive load for individuals with these conditions. Understanding cognitive complexity in code, optimizing the development environment, and minimizing distractions are important for managing cognitive load. Multitasking increases cognitive load, and using organizational systems, automation, and constant learning can help mitigate cognitive load and improve productivity.

There's lots of information out there about reducing cognitive load for users, but what about developers? This talk will cover Cognitive Load Theory, how some disabilities affect it, and designing a development environment around it.

Cognitive Load and Your Development Environment

Abbey Perini

C3 Dev Festival

C3 Dev Festival 2024

This Talk explores the role of mindset in software development and the use of AI assistants. It emphasizes the importance of training the AI assistant and the potential impact of outdated beliefs. The conscious mind is discussed as the gatekeeper to thoughts and feelings, influencing our actions and results. Mindful media consumption and prioritizing mental health are also highlighted, along with the need to support team well-being. The Talk concludes with the significance of fitness in supporting mental health.

We all have our very own wellbeing processor.It influences how you feel and act. It leads to every outcome you’ve ever had or will have…For most of us, our wellbeing processor is primarily fed by our very own AI.Unfortunately, our AI often seems to work against us.In this talk, you’ll learn how to take back control and train your AI to work with you to promotes a growth mindset and optimise wellbeing.

Mindset: You vs Your AI

Richard Donovan

The Talk discusses the importance of prioritizing mental health in software development, highlighting the increase of mental health issues in the tech industry. It emphasizes the need to address mental health conditions and their impact on productivity. The challenges faced in the tech industry, such as imposter syndrome and burnout, are highlighted, along with strategies to promote well-being and support in the industry. The importance of self-care, seeking support, and managing mental health is emphasized.

Vanessa’s presentation, Refactoring Mindsets: Prioritizing Mental Health in Software Development, will delve into the signs and symptoms commonly experienced within this professional group. The session will identify and define a range of mental disorders, offering a clearer understanding of these conditions. Furthermore, we will explore various coping strategies, equipping Developers &amp; Engineers with the tools to manage their mental health more effectively. This presentation aims to foster a deeper awareness and provide practical solutions to support mental well-being in the Tech Industry.

Refactoring Mindsets:  Prioritizing Mental Health in Software Development

 Vanessa Raath

If you're a human being, chances are you felt like an imposter at some point in your life. One of the biggest risks we have to deal with in our day-to-day life is failure. Acknowledge your feelings of self-doubt and be specific about why you're feeling this way. Embrace self-compassion and vulnerability to overcome imposter syndrome. Take action by reminding yourself of your qualifications, seeking help from colleagues, and setting realistic goals. Embrace vulnerability, build confidence, and create a safe environment for your team.

If you’re a human being, chances are you’ve felt like an impostor at some point in your life. One of the biggest issues with this syndrome is that is easy to get stuck with this feeling. One does not simply overcome Impostor Syndrome. It requires offering yourself compassion and vulnerability instead of judgment and self-doubt. But... how exactly do you achieve that? We'll look at techniques for achieving this and overcoming the syndrome.

How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome

Ursula Cervantes

React Advanced

React Advanced 2022

This talk focuses on raising awareness and empathy towards individuals with ADHD, emphasizing the importance of understanding different thinking styles. The speaker shares their personal experience of being diagnosed with ADHD and challenges faced in school and work. They discuss the diverse range of hobbies and skills they developed, as well as the impact of the pandemic on their executive function. The speaker highlights the positive effects of ADHD medication and encourages seeking professional help for diagnosis and treatment. The talk concludes by emphasizing the value of embracing neurodiversity and supporting each other in software development.

"Hi, my name is Lenz and two years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)." Well, this is not going to be a self-help-group, but I think it is important to talk about this wildly underrepresented topic. Since my diagnosis, I have spent a lot of time talking to other developers about it - and many of them also have ADHD, often a late diagnosis. It seems that we are quite the vulnerable population - or rather, it seems like a lot of ADHD people are drawn towards a developer job. In this talk, I want to tell you about myself, how ADHD affected me and how the late diagnosis changed my life. But it didn't only change my life - it also affected everyone around me. As colleagues, we have found a new level of understanding with each other that helped us more than any team-building event. And in the end, made us more productive since we now know how to better use our individual strengths, instead of trying to meet social expectations. I will also talk about general ADHD symptoms and try to give you a rough overview on the topic - what kinds of treatments exist, what kind of coping strategies there are and where the line between "everybody is a bit forgetful" and "ADHD is an illness" lies. You might recognize yourself in this. Or just a close friend or colleague. Either way, this talk will give you awareness &amp; insights how the mind of a neurodivergent person can work differently - or it may even be an important wake-up-call. Disclaimer: while I have an interest in the topic and am personally affected, I am not a trained professional on the topic and everything you hear here can only be an inspiration, but never medical advice.

Dealing with ADHD as a developer

Lenz Weber-Tronic

JS Nation

JSNation 2022

The Talk discusses imposter syndrome and reframes it as being a professional imposter. It emphasizes the importance of sharing and starting, embracing imposterism, and building inclusively for the web. The speaker shares personal experiences of being an imposter in various technical disciplines and highlights the significance of accessibility. The Talk concludes with the idea of building a collective RPG game to remove excuses for not making things accessible.

You know what impostor syndrome is, right!? Most all of us have felt that nagging feeling that we're faking it and that we're sure to be found out by all the experts around us at any moment.But before you go assuming this talk is the same ol' song and dance full of platitudes that encourage you to ignore that syndrome, let me clue you in on a little secret: there's no experts around you. Impostorism is not a syndrome at all, it's a pragmatic mindset and perspective, one we should all embrace and be proud of. In fact, it's vital to us getting our jobs done.

#mental health