What are the signs of imposter syndrome at work?

Common signs include dismissing accomplishments as luck, fearing that coworkers will discover you are unqualified, overpreparing for routine tasks, avoiding opportunities unless you feel completely ready, struggling to accept praise, comparing yourself constantly, and assuming everyone else finds the work easier. Some people withdraw, while others compensate through overworking, perfectionism, or refusing to ask for help.

Can imposter syndrome affect experienced leaders?

Yes. Seniority does not automatically eliminate imposter syndrome. The doubts may shift from wondering whether you belong to questioning whether you can continue performing at a high level or remain relevant as the organization changes. Executives and experienced professionals often work in environments where the stakes are higher, feedback is less direct, and there are fewer peers with whom they can speak honestly. That can make doubt harder to challenge.

What are the five types of imposter syndrome?

Five commonly discussed patterns are the Perfectionist, the Expert, the Natural Genius, the Soloist, and the Superperson. The Perfectionist focuses on any flaw despite strong overall performance. The Expert never feels knowledgeable enough. The Natural Genius assumes competence should come easily. The Soloist views asking for help as proof of inadequacy. The Superperson tries to overcome self-doubt by working harder and taking on more responsibility.

Can imposter syndrome ever be helpful?

In moderation, self-doubt may encourage preparation, humility, curiosity, and careful listening. Those qualities can make someone a more thoughtful leader. The problem begins when doubt no longer sharpens performance and instead causes someone to shrink, avoid opportunities, overwork, or become unable to recognize objective evidence of competence.

What is the difference between imposter syndrome and being underqualified?

Imposter syndrome is a persistent feeling of inadequacy despite meaningful evidence of competence. Being underqualified means there are genuine gaps in the knowledge or experience required for a role. The distinction should be evaluated through evidence such as results, feedback, responsibilities, performance expectations, and learning progress. It is also possible to be qualified overall while still needing to develop specific skills.

How can I overcome imposter syndrome at work?

Begin by identifying the pattern rather than treating every doubtful thought as fact. Document accomplishments, positive feedback, measurable outcomes, problems you have solved, and responsibilities you have earned. Separate genuine development needs from the broader belief that you do not belong. It can also help to speak with a trusted mentor, coach, manager, therapist, or peer who can provide an accurate outside perspective. The goal is not false confidence. It is a more honest interpretation of the evidence.

What is a Career Evidence File?

A Career Evidence File is a written record of accomplishments, measurable results, positive feedback, solved problems, successful projects, promotions, and responsibilities you have earned. Imposter syndrome can distort memory by emphasizing mistakes and minimizing success. Reviewing concrete evidence helps correct that distortion and creates a more accurate picture of your competence and professional growth.

Should I work with a therapist or a coach for imposter syndrome?

Therapy may be the better fit when imposter feelings are closely connected to anxiety, depression, trauma, significant emotional distress, or patterns affecting multiple areas of life. Coaching may be appropriate when the issue is connected primarily to a promotion, career transition, leadership challenge, professional confidence, decision-making, or accountability. A responsible coach should understand the distinction and recommend clinical support when the situation falls outside the scope of coaching.

Can career coaching help with imposter syndrome?

Career coaching can help you identify the specific pattern driving your doubt, examine evidence of your abilities, distinguish a genuine skill gap from distorted self-perception, and develop practical strategies for a new role or career transition. The goal is not to convince you that you are perfect. It is to clarify what is already true, identify where growth is genuinely needed, and help you move forward without allowing doubt to define your decisions.

Do you offer imposter syndrome coaching in Phoenix?

Yes. A Path That Calls provides career, leadership, and executive coaching for professionals in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Tempe, Chandler, and surrounding communities, as well as virtual coaching throughout the United States. Coaching may be helpful for professionals navigating promotions, leadership transitions, career changes, layoffs, increased visibility, or persistent doubts about whether they belong in roles they have earned.

Imposter Syndrome at Work: Why the Most Capable People Feel Like Frauds

Sep 2

Written By Jeff Rothenberg

Mans face with a colored cube with different faces on it being held by a hand - imposter syndrome at work

I was twenty-six years old, sitting in a corner office I had no business being in.

Not figuratively. Literally a corner office. Glass walls, a view of the floor, my name on the door. Eighteen months earlier, I'd been handed a pilot team of four people at Lending Club. The kind of scrappy, duct-tape-and-hustle project that either dies quietly or takes off. Ours took off. Four people became twenty, then fifty, then over a hundred. In under two years, I'd built and was running one of the fastest-growing teams at the company.

And every single morning, I'd walk into that corner office, close the door, sit down, and think: What the fuck am I doing?

I was managing people who were ten, fifteen years older than me. People with mortgages and kids in college and careers that started before I graduated high school. And I'm supposed to be the guy with the answers? I'd sit in leadership meetings nodding like I belonged there, and the whole time there was this voice in the back of my head going, They're going to figure it out. Someone is going to realize you're faking this.

Nobody figured it out. Because I wasn't faking it. I just couldn't see that yet.

If that sounds familiar, you're in good company. A 2024 study by Korn Ferry found that 71% of CEOs report experiencing imposter syndrome. Not entry-level employees. Not people who are actually underqualified. CEOs. The people running the whole show.

This isn't a confidence problem. It's a leadership epidemic that nobody talks about. And after fifteen years in operations and sales leadership, plus coaching dozens of professionals through it, I can tell you: the most capable people in the room are usually the ones who feel like frauds.

Let me explain why that happens, why it's not what you think, and what actually works when "just believe in yourself" doesn't cut it.

What Imposter Syndrome Actually Is (And What It Isn't)

It's Not Low Confidence. It's a Disconnect.

Here's what most people get wrong: imposter syndrome isn't about lacking confidence. It's about a gap between what you've achieved and what you believe you deserve. You got the promotion, you hit the number, you built the team. The evidence is right there. But your brain keeps running a different story. A story where you got lucky. Where the timing was right. Where someone is eventually going to pull back the curtain and realize you've been winging it.

That disconnect is the whole thing. You're not unqualified. You just can't internalize the fact that you're qualified. And the data backs this up: 82% of people report having felt like a fraud at some point in their lives, according to psychologist Dr. Jessamy Hibberd. It's nearly universal. This isn't a personal failing. It's a human pattern.

The Promotion Trigger

Starting a new role is the number one trigger for imposter syndrome, hitting 57% of people who experience it. And here's the part that should make every HR leader pay attention: Gartner research shows that 49% of internally promoted people underperform for up to 18 months. Not because they can't do the job. Because they're spending all their mental energy managing the fraud narrative instead of actually leading.

I think about this through what I call the growth breaking points: 3 to 10, 10 to 30, 30 to 90. Every time your team or your scope crosses one of these thresholds, the game changes. The skills that got you from 3 people to 10 won't get you from 10 to 30. And when you cross that line and suddenly the old playbook doesn't work anymore, your brain fills that gap with a very specific story: You don't belong here.

That gap between old competence and new demands? That's where imposter syndrome lives. It's not a sign that you're in the wrong seat. It's a sign that the seat just got bigger.

Two men outside with jackets and one man is pulling the other up from the ground - imposter syndrome at work

The Five Faces of Imposter Syndrome

Dr. Valerie Young, one of the leading researchers on this topic, identified five distinct types. I bring this up because most people think imposter syndrome looks the same for everyone. It doesn't. And knowing which version is running your brain changes what you do about it.

The Perfectionist sets the bar impossibly high, then feels like a fraud when they inevitably fall short. If 98% of the project went great but 2% had issues, they fixate on the 2%. Sound familiar?

The Expert won't call themselves qualified until they've mastered every last detail. They're the person taking one more certification, reading one more book, attending one more conference before they feel "ready." Spoiler: ready never comes.

The Natural Genius judges their competence based on how quickly something comes to them. If they have to work hard at it, they assume they're not actually good at it. That's a brutal framework to carry into a leadership role where nothing comes easy.

The Soloist believes that asking for help is proof they don't belong. They'd rather struggle alone than risk someone seeing them not know something. I've coached a lot of these. They're usually the ones who look the most put-together on the outside.

The Superperson tries to outwork the feeling. They take on every project, stay late, respond to emails at midnight, because somewhere in their head, the logic is: if I just work hard enough, the feeling will go away. It doesn't. It just turns into burnout.

When I work with clients, one of the first things we do is figure out which pattern they're running. Because the perfectionist needs a completely different conversation than the soloist. And if you're treating them the same, you're not actually helping.

A women outside in front of her laptop with orange juice on a table - imposter syndrome at work

Why the Most Capable People Get Hit Hardest

The Competence Trap

Here's the irony that makes imposter syndrome so insidious: the better you are at your job, the more likely you are to feel like a fraud. It's the Dunning-Kruger effect in reverse. People who are genuinely dangerous in their roles rarely question themselves. They don't know enough to know what they don't know. But you? You know exactly what you don't know. You can see every gap, every weakness, every area where someone else might be better. And you mistake that awareness for inadequacy.

25 to 30% of high achievers experience imposter syndrome on an ongoing basis. Not a one-time thing. An ongoing pattern of feeling like they're about to be exposed. The people who care the most about doing great work are the ones most tormented by the fear that their work isn't great enough.

Everyone Gets It. At Every Level.

I'll be honest: one of the things I've learned from coaching people across a wide range of roles is that this doesn't go away as you climb. It just changes scenery. The sales rep who just hit quota for the first time thinks everyone else finds it easier. The VP who just got promoted to SVP wonders if the CEO made a mistake. The CEO sits in board meetings questioning whether they should even be at the table.

Barbara Corcoran put it perfectly: "Who doesn't suffer from imposter syndrome? Even when I sold my business for $66 million, I felt like an absolute fraud!"

The scenery changes. The feeling doesn't. And that's actually the point. If you're waiting to reach a level where you finally feel like you "made it" and the doubt disappears, I can save you some time: that level doesn't exist.

The Silence Problem

94% of people experiencing imposter syndrome haven't discussed their feelings at work. Ninety-four percent! That means in almost every leadership meeting, at almost every company, there are people sitting around the table quietly convinced they're the only ones who don't belong there. The irony is brutal: everyone is performing confidence while privately managing doubt.

And remote work has made it worse. Since the shift to hybrid and remote, 69% of remote workers now report experiencing imposter syndrome, with 45% saying it's intensified since they started working from home. Less casual feedback. Fewer hallway conversations where someone says "hey, great job on that presentation." More isolation. More time alone with the story your brain is telling you.

A women with both hands in the air frustrated - imposter syndrome at work

This Isn't Just a Feelings Problem. It's a Business Problem.

If you're a leader reading this and thinking, "Okay, but this is a soft skills issue," let me give you some numbers.

Imposter syndrome costs organizations up to 10 full days of lost productivity per employee per year. That's two work weeks of someone spinning their wheels, second-guessing decisions, and overworking to compensate for a feeling that has nothing to do with their actual ability.

45% of employees avoid pursuing promotions or new challenges because of imposter syndrome. Think about that. Nearly half your workforce is self-selecting out of growth opportunities. Not because they can't do the work, but because they don't believe they can.

And here's the one that should really get your attention: 12% of job-quitting decisions are directly tied to imposter syndrome, with another 26% citing it as an influencing factor. When you factor in that replacing an employee costs roughly twice their annual salary, imposter syndrome becomes one of the most expensive invisible problems in your organization.

This isn't a personal development nice-to-have. It's a retention issue, a performance issue, and a leadership pipeline issue. And it's hiding in plain sight.

The Surprising Upside Nobody Talks About

Here's where this gets interesting. Research from MIT Sloan found that imposter thoughts can actually make leaders more interpersonally effective. People who feel like they need to "earn" their seat tend to listen harder, prepare more thoroughly, and treat their teams with more humility. They don't assume they have all the answers, so they ask better questions. They don't take their position for granted, so they show up with more effort.

The problem isn't the feeling itself. It's when the feeling becomes the whole story. When it stops making you sharper and starts making you smaller.

I think about this through what I call the Y Theory. At every inflection point in your career, you're standing at a fork. Left branch: you use the discomfort as fuel. You let the doubt push you to prepare harder, listen better, and keep growing. Right branch: you retreat into comfort. You play it safe. You stop raising your hand. You shrink.

The fork is the same for everyone. The choice is what separates the people who grow from the people who plateau.

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Jeff Rothenberg presenting to a group inside - imposter syndrome at work

What Actually Works (Because "Just Believe in Yourself" Doesn't)

Name the Pattern. Don't Fight the Feeling.

You can't positive-affirmation your way out of imposter syndrome. Trust me, I've tried. What works is recognizing the cycle: new role, new doubt, overcompensation or withdrawal, and then eventual adjustment. It's a pattern, not a permanent state. Once you can see it as a pattern, you stop mistaking the stage you're in for the person you are.

When I was in that corner office at Lending Club, nobody told me that what I was feeling had a name. Nobody told me that 71% of CEOs feel the same thing. I just thought something was wrong with me. Naming the pattern doesn't make it disappear, but it takes away its power to define you.

Build an Evidence File

This is one of the most practical tools I give my clients, and it sounds almost too simple: keep a running list of your wins, feedback, and outcomes. Not for your ego. For accuracy.

Imposter syndrome distorts your memory. It makes you forget the presentation that went great and remember the one question you couldn't answer. It makes you dismiss the deal you closed and fixate on the one you lost. An evidence file corrects the record. When your brain says, "You're not good enough for this," you can open the file and respond with actual data. I'm a numbers guy. Show me the numbers. The big hairy monster goes away when you have straight facts.

Find the Right Mirror

78% of business leaders experience imposter syndrome. And the vast majority of them process it alone. That's the part that gets me.

Look, I'm not going to pretend this is the section where I pitch you on coaching and promise to fix everything. That's not how I operate. But I will tell you this: the reason imposter syndrome thrives is because it lives in silence. When you don't say it out loud, it calcifies. It becomes "just the way things are." A coach isn't there to tell you you're great. A coach is there to help you see what's actually true when your brain is lying to you.

I know because I've been on both sides. I've been the guy in the corner office convinced he didn't deserve to be there. And I've been the guy sitting across from a client who built something incredible and genuinely can't see it. The mirror matters. Find someone who can reflect back what's real.

A man frustrated with black hair sitting at a table inside with a blue sweatshirt on - imposter syndrome at work

Rewrite the Narrative

This is deeper work, and it's something I spend a lot of time on with clients. We all carry stories about who we are and what we deserve. Sometimes those stories were written when we were twenty-two and broke and terrified, and we never bothered to update them. The narrative that says "I got lucky" or "I don't really know what I'm doing" might have made sense at one point. But if you're ten years into your career and you're still running that script, it's not protecting you. It's holding you back.

The mid-career reframe is especially powerful here. Early-career imposter syndrome is about proving you belong. Mid-career imposter syndrome is about questioning whether you still belong, especially as industries evolve and new technologies reshape the landscape. But here's the thing: uncertainty at this stage isn't weakness. It's intellectual humility. You know enough to question yourself deeply. That's wisdom, not inadequacy.

If You're in Phoenix and This Hits Close to Home

Phoenix is one of the fastest-growing metros in the country. Over 300 new residents a day. New companies, new roles, new leadership positions opening up constantly. TSMC, Intel, a massive influx of tech and financial services. That means a lot of capable people sitting in new chairs they earned, managing teams they built, and quietly wondering if they belong there.

If that's you, you're not broken. You're not a fraud. And you definitely don't need to figure this out alone.

I'm Jeff Rothenberg. I'm a life and career coach based in Phoenix, and I work with mid-career professionals who are successful on paper but stuck in the gap between where they are and where they know they could be. My approach isn't theoretical. I've been in the arena. I've been fired three times, built teams from scratch, and taken a 90% pay cut initially to chase the work I was meant to do.

If something in this article hit a nerve, let's talk. Not a sales pitch. Just a conversation about what's actually going on and what to do about it. I specialize working with professionals in Phoenix, Arcadia, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Chandler, & Tempe but I also serve the entire valley and remote clients from all across the country as well.

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The most successful people don't wait for perfect conditions—they take action when they recognize an opportunity. If you've read this far, you're already considering whether coaching might be the catalyst you need to reach your next level of success and fulfillment.

Take the first step today by scheduling a free 60-minute consultation call with coach Jeff.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is imposter syndrome a mental health diagnosis?

No. Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern, not a clinical disorder. It's not in the DSM-5. It was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes. That said, when it's severe and persistent, it can overlap with anxiety and depression, which are clinical. If you're not sure where you fall, talking to a professional is always a smart move.

Why does imposter syndrome get worse after a promotion?

Because a new role creates a new competence gap. The skills that earned you the promotion aren't the same skills the new role demands. Your brain notices that gap and fills it with a story: "You're not ready for this." The truth is, nobody is fully ready for a bigger role on day one. The gap is where growth happens.

Can imposter syndrome actually help you?

Yes, in moderation. Research from MIT Sloan suggests that imposter thoughts can improve interpersonal effectiveness and leadership humility. People who feel they need to earn their seat tend to listen more, prepare harder, and treat others with more respect. The problem starts when it stops being fuel and becomes paralysis.

What's the difference between imposter syndrome and actually being underqualified?

Imposter syndrome is the feeling of being a fraud despite objective evidence of competence. If you earned the role, hit the numbers, and got the feedback, the feeling is the distortion, not the reality. Being underqualified is different: that's when you genuinely lack the skills or experience for the position. The easiest way to tell the difference? Look at your results. If the results are there but the confidence isn't, that's imposter syndrome.

Should I see a therapist or a coach for imposter syndrome?

It depends on what's underneath it. If your imposter feelings are connected to deeper anxiety, depression, or trauma, therapy is the right call. If they're tied to a career transition, a promotion, a leadership challenge, or a professional identity shift, coaching is typically a better fit. I'm always transparent about this: I know my lane. I work with career transitions, leadership confidence, and professional momentum. If someone needs clinical support, I'll be the first to say so and help them find it.

I’m Jeff Rothenberg, a personal growth and career coach helping people turn uncertainty into confidence and clarity. Whether you’re rebuilding after change, exploring your next career move, or simply ready to grow, I’ll help you create momentum that lasts.

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