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25th October, 2021

Why put something out in public if you’re not in it for the likes, the reshares, or superlative comments? Why share content if you’re not looking for engagement (or at least not dependent on it)?

I’ve oftentimes been asked I fund my outreach work - leadership blog, podcast, book - through grant funding or specific public engagement money. By a similar chord, questions come aplenty on whether or not I’m doing all this non-traditional for impact or to raise the profile of a particular research project.

In sum, no. None of the above.

In 2015-16, I journaled privately for almost the full 2 years to get thought of being an imposter among my postdoc colleagues out my head. In 2018, I wrote an article about my dad struggling with post traumatic stress after surviving a major accident. Both of these things went on to be something together then what I designed them for. One became a book project, the other a small business. And while the success or failure of these things remains to be seen, they are linked by the fact that they came from a desire to reflect. Deeply. And, at first, privately.

Dr James Pennebaker has studied the power of expressive writing, and showed how committing your deepest and sometimes darkest reflections to the page can help change your relationship with them. You can become more mindful, take more ownership, more control. Reflecting on feeling like a fraud helped me find and contribute to the field of the Imposter Phenomenon. Writing about my dad helped me face a difficult period in my life watching a fun dad struggle with alcohol and haunting memories.

And so it is now with the podcast and leadership blog. Few of us go into leadership roles being handed a manual on how to do it ‘right’. How to lead well. The audio you listen to and the words you read are my way of sharing what’s working and what’s not. What’s pushing me on and holding me back. It’s helping me reflect on leadership now the way I’ve had to wrestle with imposter experiences and my late dad’s PTSD. And if any of this helps anyone other than me, it’s a joyous bonus.

Consider how you might take on expressive writing to find out more about yourself.

Do it for the understanding. Don’t do it for the likes.

See you soon.

If you have a question for Marc, upload an audio recording for it to be featured on a later Q&A episode!