Impostor syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which people believe they have faked their successes, talents and qualifications and fear being found out, even though the objective evidence says otherwise. Perfectionism, fear of rejection by the group and a distorted view of oneself keep the vicious circle going.
Key Takeaways
- Impostor syndrome is not a sign of missing competence. It is a psychological phenomenon affecting people who cannot accept their proven abilities and achievements as real, despite the evidence.
- People prone to impostor syndrome get caught in a vicious circle: they read their own symptoms as proof that they really are incompetent, which rules out a realistic self-assessment.
- Women in IT develop impostor syndrome more often, because in a male-dominated group they are automatically seen as outsiders and at the same time feel they represent every woman in the field.
- Impostor syndrome starts from a sensible protective function, keeping you from embarrassment, but it rests on two faulty assumptions: you can usually do what you set out to do, and even when you can’t, a mistake is not the end of your social world.
- Recalibrating your own standard of perfection helps: if you ask what would really happen in the worst case, you notice that the fear almost always outweighs the actual consequence.
What Is Impostor Syndrome?
Impostor syndrome (often spelled imposter syndrome) is a psychological phenomenon, not a medical condition. People who have it feel as though their successes, talents and qualifications were obtained by deception or bluff. Underneath sits the fear that someone will discover how bad they supposedly are at the things they visibly do well, and that everything will then be taken away.
Sophie Küster insists on the distinction: a phenomenon, not a deficit and not a diagnosis. That framing alone takes some of the weight off. Once you can name it, you stop thinking you’re going mad.
The counter-evidence is usually right in front of you. There’s the degree, the piece of paper stating that you passed the exam. Your head still doesn’t believe the evidence. The feeling beats the facts.
Why Logic Alone Won’t Talk You Out of It
You can’t argue impostor syndrome away, because it is a feeling, not a reasoning error you can quickly correct. You can watch yourself tick every box of the phenomenon and still think: in my case it’s real, I really didn’t earn that degree.
That’s what makes it so sneaky. The mind writes itself an exception: only the smart people who wrongly doubt themselves have genuine impostor syndrome, while you are simply not good enough. That creates a vicious circle that is hard to get out of.
Seeing this is the first lever. The feeling doesn’t go away, but it loses its authority.
Fake the Confidence First
When time is short and you have to go on stage, into a meeting or into a conversation right now, the fastest tip is: just act as if. That sounds contradictory at first. You’re already afraid of being exposed as a fraud, and now you’re supposed to bluff about your confidence as well.
The point is that plenty of people do exactly that. They talk themselves up a bit. If you’re the only one who doesn’t play along because inner doubt holds you back, you fall behind, even though you may be every bit as capable as the person announcing that they’re the coolest one in the room.
If everyone else is bluffing, your own rules can allow it too. Otherwise the only person you’re holding back is yourself.
Perfectionism Is the Fuel, Not the Fix
Impostor syndrome often comes with strong perfectionism and a fear of being cast out. The worry isn’t only about making a mistake. It’s that the group will laugh at you and push you away over the smallest flaw. That fear is what makes the phenomenon so painful, because so much shame is attached to it.
It’s easy to forget that a degree with a B average is still a degree. If you pass your driving test on the second attempt, you’re still allowed to drive. Not everything has to be perfect to count.
Imperfection gives character. Perfectly symmetrical AI faces look a little creepy, while a small gap between the teeth and a lopsided grin look likeable. The same goes for an open, authentic manner where you sometimes fall flat on your face. Not doing things perfectly is not the end of the world.
“What we so easily lose sight of is that every little imperfection simply gives you character and makes you human.”
(Sophie Küster)
Why Women in IT Are Especially Affected
Not quite belonging is one of the biggest drivers of impostor syndrome. If you visibly don’t fit the group, you’re quicker to feel like an intruder who could be found out at any moment.
In IT, that applies to a lot of women. In a male-dominated environment it’s easy to feel lost and not obviously part of the group. On top of that comes the pressure to work twice as hard, so that your supposed incompetence doesn’t embarrass the whole group you involuntarily represent.
The fear underneath is ancient. Being cast out used to mean danger. The brain treats a harmless mistake as if your place in the group were at stake.
Make It a Team Sport
Impostor syndrome is easier to tackle together than alone. Team up with other impostors. Even a shared venting session takes the pressure off, and you get tips from people who know the feeling.
This is especially useful for self-promotion. Many people find it extremely hard to praise themselves or put themselves forward. Talking about someone else is much easier. You say about another person: I know this brilliant speaker. That person says the same about you. You end up praising each other, and nobody has to say the awkward sentence about themselves.
Admitting openly that you’re struggling and don’t know what to do creates closeness. Talking about these things together builds friendships, and helping each other connects people.
Learn About the Phenomenon
Knowing about impostor syndrome is one of the strongest tools against it. Just learning the term can change a lot. If your brain has convinced you that someone is about to take your high school diploma away, you calm down the moment you realize the phenomenon is so common it has a name. Which means plenty of others feel the same.
In practice that means reading books, listening to podcasts and talking to others about it. Once you start reading up, you suddenly notice how many of your own thoughts follow exactly this pattern.
Labels and categories often get a bad reputation, but they can be healing. Someone who has believed all their life that they’re a bad horse feels liberated on realizing they were a perfectly normal zebra all along. You won’t be happy as long as you keep trying to be a horse.
Give the Inner Voice a Name and Talk Back
One effective technique is to treat the impostor feeling as a separate voice and deliberately contradict it. Notice when it’s the impostor voice talking in your head, then tell it: shut up, I can do this, I’m doing it now.
Contradicting it silently is usually enough. If you’re sliding into a spiral, you can also say “stop” out loud to get out of it. It sounds odd, but it helps.
Writing things down works too. If you simply write out your thoughts in the morning, exactly these worries come up: hopefully nobody will notice. Seeing them on paper takes away some of their weight. It isn’t that bad after all.
Ask What the Worst Case Really Is
A realistic yardstick exposes exaggerated fear. Play the “What’s the worst that can happen?” game, a technique also used for anxiety disorders.
Before an exam it can feel as if failing would kill you. Sit down and think it through: if I don’t pass, I get another attempt. That’s manageable, not the end of the world. The fear is almost always far bigger than anything that can realistically happen.
The fear has a sensible core. It makes the wolf look bigger, and in evolutionary terms that was useful: our ancestors ran from the saber-toothed tiger instead of finding it cute. Today, though, this protective mechanism bolts where there’s no danger at all.
Impostor Syndrome Has a Positive Core
At heart, impostor syndrome wants something good for you: to keep you from embarrassing yourself. It just overdoes it. Its protective logic contains two faulty assumptions.
The first: you won’t embarrass yourself, because you can actually do what you’re setting out to do. You can host the podcast, she can give the talk. The competence is there.
The second: even if you can’t do something, that isn’t shameful or humiliating. Not mastering everything perfectly is human. You get at the root of the phenomenon by asking yourself: what is success, what is competence, what have I realistically achieved, and what does failure even mean to me?
Words like success and failure are rarely clearly defined. Does success mean your happiness, your financial situation, your contentment? Working that out for yourself strips these words of their vague power to threaten.
Be Brave and Jump In
The shortest advice at the end of a long topic: you’re not alone, you can do this, you’ll manage it, be brave and jump in.
Business is made up of the people who run it. If you’re preoccupied with yourself, often more than you need to be, it pays to talk openly about these things instead of polishing the mask ever further.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is impostor syndrome a mental illness?
No. It is a psychological phenomenon, not a clinical condition, and not a diagnosis. Those affected believe their successes, talents, and achievements were obtained through deception and fear that someone will discover how bad they supposedly are at what they visibly excel at. Classifying it as a phenomenon takes the weight off the issue: Once people can name it, they stop thinking they’re crazy.
Why do those affected often fail to recognize that they have impostor syndrome?
The mind creates a special rule for itself: Only smart people who mistakenly doubt themselves have genuine impostor syndrome; as for oneself, one is simply not good enough. As a result, one’s own symptoms are reinterpreted as proof of one’s own incompetence, and self-assessment becomes systematically impossible. Those who see through this mechanism can’t shake the feeling, but their sense of authority diminishes.
What helps in the short term if you have to go on stage or into a meeting right away?
Pretend you have self-confidence. That sounds contradictory when you’re already afraid of being exposed as a fraud. The point is: Many people put on a bit of a front. Anyone who’s the only one not playing along (because inner doubt is holding them back) falls behind, even though they’re just as capable as the person who loudly proclaims they’re the coolest person in the room.
Does the work environment influence who feels like an impostor?
Yes. Not really fitting in is one of the major factors. Anyone who doesn’t seem to fit in with the group is more likely to feel like an intruder who’ll be exposed at any moment. In male-dominated IT environments, this affects many women, exacerbated by the pressure to work twice as hard so as not to embarrass the entire group they’re involuntarily representing.
What role does perfectionism play in this?
Perfectionism is the fuel, not the solution. The concern isn’t just about making a mistake, but that the group will laugh at you and ostracize you at the slightest imperfection. There’s a lot of shame attached to that. Yet a degree with a B average is still a degree, and someone who passes their driver’s license test on the second try is still allowed to drive afterward.
Why is it so hard to praise yourself, and what helps?
Talking about others is much easier than talking about yourself. That’s why praise works best in a group: You say about someone else, “I know this brilliant speaker,” and she says the same thing about you. No one has to say that uncomfortable thing about themselves. Even just sharing experiences with others who’ve been through the same thing provides relief and offers tips from people who understand.
How do you deal with the inner voice that doubts your own competence?
Treat it as a separate voice and consciously contradict it. Be aware of when the impostor voice is speaking, and tell it: “Shut up, I can do this, I’m going to do this now.” Usually, internal contradiction is enough; for spiraling thoughts, a loud “stop” helps. Writing things down in the morning also works: on paper, worries lose their weight.
Why does the fear of embarrassment seem greater than the actual consequence?
Fear has a protective core and makes the wolf seem bigger than it is. Evolutionarily, this was useful: our ancestors ran away from saber-toothed tigers. Today, this mechanism kicks in even when there’s no danger. The technique “What’s the worst that could happen?” puts things into perspective: If you fail an exam, you still have another chance.
