Feeling like a fraud? You're not alone

Last week I wrote about what imposter phenomenon actually is. We established that it is a set of cognitive features, not a clinical disorder (or syndrome) and that it causes capable people to feel like frauds despite genuine evidence of competence.

This week I want to go a bit deeper on how the phenomenon shows up because if we recognise some of the patterns in our own behaviour, it helps guide our thinking and directs us to ways of overcoming imposterism that can work for us.

One of the most persistent misconceptions about imposter feelings is that they signal weakness or inadequacy. The research suggests the opposite.

The imposter phenomenon is most commonly associated with high performers, highly driven people, and those with perfectionist tendencies (Clance & Imes, 1978). Imposter feelings also tend to be associated with career progression. The more capable and driven you are, the more likely you are to push yourself into bigger and more demanding roles.

This is why imposter phenomenon arises so fiercely when we are new in role. That is the point when we have outgrown the skills, capabilities and connections that supported us in our prior position. So, the unease and discomfort we feel are signs of progression and growth.

You might think the natural solution is to simply accumulate more evidence of success; better results, more experience etc. But, as your own experiences may tell you, that tends not to work.

Have you ever had thoughts like these: Once I get the promotion, I'll feel settled"; "once I've been in the role for six months, I'll be know what I’m doing"; "once this project is done, I'll feel like I belong"?

That’s the ‘arrival fallacy’: the belief that achieving a particular result will finally produce the security you've been waiting for.

The problem is that achievement does not operate on imposter feelings the way you'd expect. Feenstra and colleagues (2020) found that there is not a simple association between imposter feelings and ability or track record. The feelings are affected by the challenges you face. The bigger the stage you are operating on, the louder the doubt can become, regardless of your prior achievements.

There is also a well-documented relationship between imposter phenomenon and unhelpful perfectionism, although the direction of that relationship remains unclear. We know the two are connected, but we do not yet know with certainty which one causes which (Thomas & Bigatti, 2020).

It may be that perfectionism feeds imposter feelings: if your standards are set impossibly high, you will always find evidence that you haven't met them. Similarly, it may be that imposter feelings drive people to perfectionism as a coping strategy. If you can produce impeccable work, perhaps nobody will notice the gaps in your abilities that you believe are there.

Either way, the combination is not healthy, as perfectionism and imposter feelings reinforce each other in a loop that can be difficult to break on your own.

For some, the feelings of imposterism do subside over time. But, when imposter phenomenon really takes hold, people tend to respond in one of two broad ways, both of which are understandable, but problematic.

This is all about trying to work harder than anyone else in the room; overpreparing, arriving first, leaving last and aiming for flawless execution every time. This can look like high performance, but the toll is substantial.

Research has found clear associations between imposter phenomenon and burnout (Edwards-Maddox, 2023), and that relationship makes complete sense: if your response to feeling inadequate is to simply work harder and harder, there is no obvious brake on the effort you feel you have to expend.

This is where you subtly take yourself out of the firing line. You avoid the tough assignments, the high-visibility projects, or the promotion conversations so that you can avoid the prospect of failing in public (Ferrari & Thompson, 2006). This pattern can be almost invisible to the people around you.

It doesn't look like you are struggling. It looks like modesty or maybe just a preference for certain kinds of work. But under the surface, decisions about your own development are being shaped by fear that your self-perceived weaknesses will be exposed, rather than by your actual interests or capability.

Some people move between these different paths, depending on the situation. But the common thread is that imposter feelings begin to govern your decisions and actions.

There is one more important point to flag before we move to practical strategies for dealing with imposter phenomenon next week.  We should probably not simply treat imposter phenomenon purely as an individual problem to be fixed individually.

As Feenstra and colleagues (2020) argue, we should also think about how imposter phenomenon is impacted by workplace environments and cultures, especially as research has shown that perceived organisational support is a meaningful factor in whether and how people experience imposter feelings (Bielenberg, Ibrahim and Herzberg (2025) and McDowell, Grubb and Geho (2015)).  

This means imposter feelings may be mitigated or exacerbated by the environment you are operating in.  It also means that as a leader of other people, the culture you create in your own team has a direct bearing on whether the people reporting to you are spending their energy on the work or on managing their own fears of being found out.

Next week, I'll turn to the practical question: what the evidence actually tells us works to help shift these imposter feelings, and why some of the most commonly offered advice can inadvertently make things worse.

See below if you feel you need some help with this.

References

Bielenberg, C., Ibrahim, F., & Herzberg, P. Y. (2025). The impact of workplace environment on the impostor phenomenon among early career starters. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 8, 100175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbeha.2025.100175

Bravata, D. M., Watts, S. A., Keefer, A. L., Madhusudhan, D. K., Taylor, K. T., Clark, D. M., et al. (2020). Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: a systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35, 1252–1275.

Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 15(3), 241–247.

Edwards-Maddox, S. (2023). Burnout and impostor phenomenon in nursing and newly licensed registered nurses: a scoping review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 32(5–6), 653–665.

Feenstra, S., Begeny, C. T., Ryan, M. K., Rink, F. A., Stoker, J. I., & Jordan, J. (2020). Contextualizing the impostor "syndrome." Frontiers in Psychology, 11, Article 575024.

Ferrari, J. R., & Thompson, T. (2006). Impostor fears: links with self-presentational concerns and self-handicapping behaviours. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(2), 341–352.

McDowell, W. C., Grubb, W. L., & Geho, P. R. (2015). The impact of self-efficacy and perceived organizational support on the imposter phenomenon. American Journal of Management, 15(3), 23–29.

Neureiter, M., & Traut-Mattausch, E. (2016). An inner barrier to career development: preconditions of the impostor phenomenon and consequences for career development. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 48.

Thomas, M., & Bigatti, S. (2020). Perfectionism, impostor phenomenon, and mental health in medicine: a literature review. International Journal of Medical Education, 11, 201–213.

All of my posts for new leaders are here.

Coaching is one of the recognised interventions that can help with the imposter phenomenon.

If you’d like to explore whether I can help you with any imposter feelings hit reply and we can arrange an introductory chat. There are more details and booking links here.