Overcoming Impostor Syndrome: Why the Best Often Feel Like Frauds

You're in a meeting, everyone nods at your presentation – and you think: "Any moment now they'll realize I have no idea what I'm doing." You get promoted and wonder: "Why me? The others are so much better." You solve a complex problem and think: "That was just luck."

Welcome to the club. You're experiencing impostor syndrome – and you're in excellent company.

What Is Impostor Syndrome?

Impostor syndrome describes the persistent feeling of not deserving your own success. Those affected are convinced they're deceiving others about their true abilities – and that it's only a matter of time before they're "exposed."

The Facts

• 70% of all people experience impostor feelings at least once in their lives
• 58% of tech employees report regular impostor experiences
• The syndrome affects all career levels – from junior to CEO
• It was first described in 1978 by psychologists Clance and Imes
• It's not an official diagnosis, but a recognized psychological phenomenon

What It's NOT

Impostor syndrome is not:

• Humility – It's not about deflecting praise, but genuine self-doubt
• Realistic self-assessment – Affected individuals systematically underestimate themselves
• Fishing for compliments – The doubts are real and often tormenting
• A sign of incompetence – Rather the opposite: competent people doubt more

Why Is Impostor Syndrome So Prevalent in Tech?

The tech industry is a perfect breeding ground for impostor feelings:

1. Constant Change

Technology today → Obsolete tomorrow

React → React Hooks → Server Components → ???
REST → GraphQL → tRPC → ???
Monolith → Microservices → Serverless → ???

Nobody can know everything. But the feeling of "falling behind" is omnipresent.

2. Visible Competence of Others

• GitHub profiles with thousands of contributions
• Twitter threads from "10x engineers"
• Conference speakers who seem to know everything
• Colleagues who seemingly solve complex problems effortlessly

What you don't see: Their struggles, mistakes, Google searches, and self-doubt.

3. The "Genius Myth" Culture

Tech glorifies the lone genius – Zuckerberg in the garage, Jobs as visionary. Reality: Success is always teamwork, timing, and yes, luck too.

4. Objective Performance Measurement

Code works or it doesn't. Tests are green or red. This black-and-white evaluation reinforces the feeling: "Either I can do it, or I'm a fraud."

5. Rapid Career Paths

In tech, you can lead a team at 25. That's great – but also overwhelming. "Am I really ready for this?" is a natural question.

The 5 Impostor Types According to Dr. Valerie Young

Dr. Valerie Young identified five types that cope differently with the syndrome:

1. The Perfectionist

Thought pattern: "If it's not perfect, it's a failure."

Symptoms:

• Sets unrealistically high standards
• Focuses on the 2% that wasn't perfect
• Can't celebrate successes
• Procrastinates out of fear of mistakes

Typical thought: "The code works, but it could be more elegant. I'm not a good developer."

2. The Expert

Thought pattern: "I must know everything before I'm allowed to feel competent."

Symptoms:

• Endless learning without application
• Fear of asking questions
• Only applies for jobs where 100% of requirements are met
• Feels like a fraud when a knowledge gap appears

Typical thought: "I don't know Kubernetes. I'm not a real DevOps engineer."

3. The Natural Genius

Thought pattern: "If I have to try hard, I'm not good enough."

Symptoms:

• Avoids challenges where failure is possible
• Frustrated when something doesn't work immediately
• Considers effort a sign of weakness
• Underestimates how much others work

Typical thought: "I spent three hours on this bug. Real developers would have solved it in minutes."

4. The Soloist

Thought pattern: "If I need help, I'm not competent."

Symptoms:

• Rejects collaboration
• Doesn't ask for help
• Would rather work longer alone than faster as a team
• Sees teamwork as weakness

Typical thought: "I had to use Stack Overflow. A real programmer would have known that themselves."

5. The Superhero

Thought pattern: "I must be the best at everything."

Symptoms:

• Works excessively
• Neglects personal life
• Can't say no
• Measures self-worth by productivity

Typical thought: "My colleague finished the project faster. I need to work even more."

Self-Assessment: Do You Have Impostor Syndrome?

Answer honestly (0 = never, 1 = rarely, 2 = sometimes, 3 = often, 4 = always):

1. I attribute my success to luck or timing, not my abilities
2. I'm afraid others will discover I'm not as competent as they think
3. I downplay my successes or find reasons why they "don't count"
4. I remember failures more than successes
5. I feel uncomfortable when praised
6. I compare myself to others and always come up short
7. I feel I haven't earned my position
8. I over-prepare out of fear of being "found out"
9. I systematically underestimate my abilities
10. I think others know much more than I do

Scoring:

• 0-10: Low impostor tendencies
• 11-20: Moderate impostor tendencies
• 21-30: Strong impostor tendencies
• 31-40: Very strong impostor tendencies – support might help

Understanding the Causes

Family Background

• Excessive praise: "You're so smart!" → Fear of destroying this image
• Conditional love: Recognition only for achievement → Self-worth = Performance
• Comparison with siblings: "Why can't you be like your brother?"
• High expectations: Perfectionism as survival strategy

Social Factors

• Underrepresented groups experience the syndrome more frequently
• First generation in a field (e.g., first in family in tech)
• Career changers without "traditional" background
• New roles (promotion, job change, first leadership position)

Cognitive Biases

12 Strategies for Overcoming

Strategy 1: Keep a Success Journal

Document 3 things daily:

1. What did I do well today?
2. What positive feedback did I receive?
3. What problem did I solve?

Why it works: You create counter-evidence to your negative beliefs.

Strategy 2: Name Your Inner Critic

Give your inner critic a name – e.g., "The Skeptic" or "Doubtful Dave."

When it speaks:

• "Oh, there's Dave again."
• "Thanks for your opinion, Dave, but I'm not listening right now."

Why it works: Distance creates objectivity.

Strategy 3: Gather Facts

When you think "I can't do this," ask:

• What evidence is there for this?
• What evidence is there against it?
• What would a neutral observer say?

Example:

Thought: "I'm not a good developer"

Evidence for:
- I had a bug last week

Evidence against:
- I successfully deployed 5 features
- My code review was positive
- I was chosen for the complex project
- My colleagues ask me for advice

Conclusion: Evidence speaks against my thought

Strategy 4: Normalize Through Conversations

Talk to others about your self-doubt. You'll find:

• Most successful people know the feeling
• You're not alone
• Others see you very differently than you see yourself

Strategy 5: Reframe "Fake it till you make it"

Instead of seeing yourself as a fraud pretending:

Old: "I'm pretending to know what I'm doing."

New: "I'm learning by doing. That's normal."

Nobody is competent from day one. Learning isn't fraud.

Strategy 6: The 70% Rule

You don't need to be 100% competent to do a job. 70% is enough to start – you learn the rest along the way.

For applications: If you meet 70% of requirements, apply.

For projects: If you understand 70%, start. The rest will come.

Strategy 7: Give Mentoring

Nothing shows you your competence better than helping others.

• Explain a concept to a junior
• Write a blog post about something you learned
• Answer questions on Stack Overflow

Why it works: You see how much you actually know.

Strategy 8: Stop Comparing

You compare your inside with others' outside.

You see: Their polished code on GitHub You don't see: Their 47 attempts before that

Tip: Follow people who also talk about their struggles.

Strategy 9: Internalize Successes

When something goes well, ask yourself:

• What did I contribute?
• Which of my skills were important?
• Why did the team choose me?

Exercise: After each success, write down which of your traits contributed.

Strategy 10: Accept the Fear

You may never completely get rid of the impostor feeling – and that's okay.

Goal: Act despite the feelings, not wait for their absence.

Mantra: "I feel insecure AND I do it anyway."

Strategy 11: Professional Help

If the syndrome significantly impacts your life:

• Coaching for professional aspects
• Therapy (especially cognitive-behavioral therapy) for deeper patterns
• No shame – this is professional self-care

Strategy 12: Shape Your Environment

• Seek work environments with psychological safety
• Avoid toxic comparison culture
• Surround yourself with people who lift you up
• Actively request constructive feedback

What To Do When It Gets Acute?

In the moment when impostor thoughts overwhelm:

The 5-4-3-2-1 Technique

Grounding through the senses:

• 5 things you see
• 4 things you hear
• 3 things you feel
• 2 things you smell
• 1 thing you taste

The "So What?" Technique

Play through the worst-case scenario:

• "What if they realize I don't know everything?" → Then I'll ask and learn.
• "What if the project fails?" → Then I'll learn from it and do better next time.
• "What if I lose my job?" → Then I'll find a new one.

Usually, the worst case isn't that bad.

The Reality Check

Ask someone you trust: "How do you perceive my work?"

The answer will probably surprise you.

Impostor Syndrome vs. Dunning-Kruger Effect

An interesting contrast:

The irony: That you're questioning whether you're good enough is a sign that you're probably better than you think.

For Leaders: Recognizing Impostor Syndrome in Your Team

Warning Signs

• Team members downplay successes
• Excessive preparation for simple tasks
• Avoidance of visibility (no presentations, no speaking up)
• Working significantly below competence level
• Declining promotions or new challenges

What You Can Do

1. Normalize mistakes: Talk about your own self-doubts
2. Specific praise: "You did X well because Y" instead of just "Good job"
3. Create psychological safety: Mistakes are okay
4. Mirror strengths: Regularly tell people what they're good at
5. Stretch assignments: Show trust through challenging tasks

Conclusion: Impostor Syndrome as a Sign of Growth

Impostor syndrome is uncomfortable – but it also has a positive side:

• It shows you're in new territory
• It shows you have high standards
• It shows you're self-reflective
• It shows you're capable of learning

The most successful people I know all have impostor feelings. The difference: They don't let it stop them.

Your next step:

1. Recognize: The feeling is normal
2. Accept: It may never completely disappear
3. Act: Despite the feelings, not because of their absence

You're not an impostor. You're someone who's growing.

Struggling with self-doubt in a leadership role? Our article on Servant Leadership shows a leadership style built on authenticity rather than perfection.