search.noResults

search.searching

saml.title
dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
Jess Pawley.


working has been to connect with people we may not previously have had the chance to work with, to explore new ideas and to embrace opportunities in new and creative ways. I have a great deal of autonomy in my role, which is supported by hybrid working. This, in turn, has led to greater confidence in how I approach my work. I have started to learn coping strategies for when I feel the isolation and (largely self-imposed) pressure get to me, which can be a difficult strength to master but one which is essential when we are working away from others.


Could you describe what you see as the best solutions on offer? JP – Peer support. A mentor who is senior to you, for example a manager but perhaps someone outside of your field or outside of the profession, to offer an impartial view. Access to leadership courses. For it to be widely recognised that not everyone has necessarily had the same access to oppor- tunities, the same access to support and that personal struggles with confidence are okay and not something to be tutted at and deemed a hindrance.


What are the main challenges for people to access them? JP – That it’s okay to fail, that it’s okay to ask for help – that making mistakes is how we learn. It can sometimes take a lot to ask for help and people shouldn’t be prevented from doing so. I think some- times it can feel as though there is no one to talk to.


What would you like to achieve at conference? JP – The opportunity to address within myself some of the issues I have described above. I am also looking forward to the discussions around knowledge manage- ment and particularly data/AI, as we


26 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL


continue to learn more about the impact of this on our profession and how we can adapt to and learn from it.


What is your experience of imposter syndrome? Jo Walley – Imposter syndrome is some- thing that I have recognised in myself all my life; it hinders us from being our true selves. My work is about being your true self and about the choices that you posi- tively choose to make, rather than what the imposter might hold you back from. You can’t really get rid of the imposter (sorry to break the bad news!), and that’s part of what the conference session will cover. But it’s about being aware of it, rec- ognising it, and then making sure that you make a more conscious choice. Would you choose to feel sad, or would you choose to feel happy?


I help people when they are noticing that their behaviours are holding them back, or there’s something important in their life that they are not prioritising – basically when they just don’t quite feel themselves. My focus is on accepting the imposter will always be there but not to


give it too much energy. What does the true-you want?


Can you give an example of impost- er syndrome in your life? JW – One key example of when I experienced imposter syndrome was CILIP Cymru Wales inviting me to do their conference keynote back in 2018. The conference was all about confidence and they wanted a keynote on imposter syndrome.


At the time I was running courses and workshops and coaching people, which is why they invited me to deliver the keynote. But when I got the email I thought they’d got the wrong person. I let the email sit there for a minute and then realised the irony of the imposter in me thinking: “Who are you to be giving a conference keynote on imposter syndrome?What do you know about it? Why are they asking you? What have you got to say on this topic?” Luckily, I recognised that and contact- ed them and said, “yes, I’d love to do it”. And that became part of what I shared in the keynote session. Is it a big problem? JW – We usually think the people who


June 2023


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60