What You Need to Remember to Beat Imposter Syndrome
Keep a record of your measurable successes. This way, you can fight your unsure feelings with real proof.
Stop focusing on your own doubts. Instead, concentrate on the actual tasks you complete that help your company and your team.
Remember that senior leaders are valued for making good choices, not for being able to do every single small job perfectly.
Understand that the senior people you work with are also unsure sometimes. Feeling like you don't belong is common for leaders, not just a problem you have.
What Is Imposter Syndrome?
Imposter syndrome is the persistent belief that you are not as capable as others think you are, and that your success is due to luck rather than skill. Despite clear evidence of competence, people with imposter syndrome live in fear of being exposed as frauds.
The term was coined by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978. Research now shows it affects people at every level: according to a 2024 Korn Ferry study of 10,000 professionals, 71% of U.S. CEOs and 65% of senior executives report experiencing imposter syndrome symptoms. It's not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of awareness.
Imposter Syndrome: The Thing That Stops Your Career
Many career advisors treat imposter syndrome like an emotional injury that needs constant positive self-talk or pretending you are confident until you actually are. This approach traps your career. When you focus only on your feelings instead of what you actually get done, you stay put, waiting for a wave of confidence that won't naturally appear.
People who don't know what they are doing wait until they feel ready. Leaders understand that waiting for permission just means you are falling behind politely.
In top management jobs, doubting yourself slows down how fast you can make important choices. When you question if you deserve to be there, you become hesitant in important meetings and lose your power to influence things.
The Cost of Being Slow to Act
- This hurts more than just your happiness; it costs you authority, access to money, and how much you can earn over your life.
- If you don't claim your successes, you will watch more forceful (though maybe less skilled) colleagues take the jobs that should have been yours.
- The American Survey Center found that 33% of U.S. workers regularly doubt their professional abilities, and self-doubt is significantly higher (55%) among young women ages 18-29, according to the same 2024 research.
"When you work as hard for yourself as you do for others, you are going to be unstoppable."
— Dr. Richard Orbé-Austin, psychologist and executive coach, Dynamic Transitions Psychological Consulting
You are probably stuck in a cycle where you wait for a new job title or a great review to finally tell you that you are worthy. But the way companies work rewards those who take charge, not those who stay quiet.
To stop this cycle, you must switch from trying to "feel" capable to actively tracking your skills. Great performers don't try to "feel" qualified; they use a system based on facts that treats their career like a clear business case.
Separating your self-worth from your work results and concentrating on clear numbers doesn't just quiet the inner critic. It makes the inner critic irrelevant. If this feeling shows up right before a high-stakes conversation, our post on beating imposter syndrome before an interview walks through the same evidence-based approach for that specific moment.
The Action Plan to Get Rid of Imposter Syndrome
To stop feeling like a fake, stop seeing your career as a personal story and start treating it like a business report. Separate your self-worth from your work by treating your skills like a product you manage. When you focus on clear facts, you move from hoping you are good enough to knowing that the value you bring is clear and undeniable.
Make a "Proof Folder" where you list your best three wins from the last six months. For each win, forget how you felt and only write down the "Hard Facts": How much money did you bring in? How much time did you save the team? What specific problem did you solve? If you can’t find a number, show a "Before and After" picture that proves things are better because you were involved.
"I looked at the results of my last three projects. By making the vendor process smoother, I cut our time by 15%, which helped the sales team close two extra deals this quarter. Here is the information showing how that helped us meet our goals."
When we look for leaders, we don't focus on "being humble"; it's too hard to measure. We look for how much "Impact" you create compared to "What you cost." If you can't state your value in numbers, we assume you are just going along for the ride, not driving. Candidates who talk in metrics are the ones we move up quickly because they prove they understand how the company actually earns money.
Most people wait for a manager to say they are "ready" for the next step, but in senior roles, you take power, it isn't handed to you. Imposter syndrome wins when you are stuck between "asking for permission" and "taking charge." You need to make decisions faster by using your data instead of waiting for a "go-ahead" from the official structure.
This week, check every decision you make. Find one thing you usually ask your boss about. Instead of asking, "What should I do?" or "Is this okay?", make the choice yourself and send an "Update Note." Change from waiting to see what happens to telling people what you have already started.
"Based on the project information, I have decided to immediately switch our focus to the Q3 launch to avoid the issue we saw coming. I already told the team the new schedule. Please let me know if you see any major problems with this that I missed."
Companies don't hire the most "trustworthy" person; they hire the person who makes their boss's job easier. If a manager has to check everything you do, you are a "cost." If you make choices and stand by them, you are an "investment." We always hire for the second option.
You prove you deserve credit when you follow up. Imposter feelings often return after a win because we say it was luck or the team's effort. To "own" your win, you need to review your results as if you were an outside helper showing a client what you did. This makes you accept your part in the success and ensures the company sees you as the main reason for that value.
Set up a 15-minute "Value Meeting" with your manager. Don't wait for the yearly review. Bring a simple paper showing the results of your Proof Folder and connect your actions directly to the department's main goals. This moves the talk away from your "personality" and toward your "market value."
"I wanted to check in on last quarter's results. My specific plan for Project X saved us $50k. Based on this return on investment, I want to discuss how we can use this same method for Project Y to grow our market strength."
A 2024 Korn Ferry survey of 10,000 global professionals found that 71% of U.S. CEOs experience imposter syndrome, yet the same leaders are the most likely to actively track and communicate their results. The correlation is not a coincidence.
In meetings where promotions and raises are decided, your name is your brand. If you don't actively define your brand's worth through regular updates on your ROI, other people will define it for you: usually as "the person who does the work," not "the person who achieves the results." People who are forceful get the money because they prove they know how to use it smartly.
How Our Tool Helps Your Strategy for Taking Ownership
For Step 1 Proof
Win Logging ToolKeeps track of your successes automatically, and uses an AI helper to break down "Before and After" results to show your value.
For Showing Numbers
Resume BuilderTurns your normal job duties into strong points with numbers by asking you about project budgets and deadlines.
For Practicing Step 3
Career CoachOffers an AI Mentor available 24/7 to practice your "Value Meeting," asking you tough questions about market facts and savings.
Common Questions About Imposter Syndrome
Will tracking my wins make me look arrogant to my team?
No. Arrogance means claiming value you didn't create. Taking ownership means making sure the business knows exactly where its value is coming from. These are different things.
When you hide your achievements to seem "humble," you aren't helping the team; you are blocking important information. If your boss doesn't know what you specifically did, they can't fight for your budget or support your team's next promotion. Important leaders don't ask for credit because they need praise. They claim credit so the company knows who to trust with the next big project.
How do I build a Proof Folder without hard numbers?
Every job exists to do one of three things: make money, save money, or manage risk. If you don't have a spreadsheet tracking that, make one today.
- Stop looking for "sales" and start looking for "problems you fixed."
- Did you make a meeting shorter by 20 minutes? Calculate the hourly cost of everyone in the room and call it "Lowered Operational Expenses."
- Did you catch a mistake before it reached a customer? That is "Risk Prevention."
You are paid to create results, not just complete tasks. If you can't prove the result, don't be surprised when the system treats you like an expense instead of an asset.
Does getting rejected for a promotion mean I really am an imposter?
A "no" isn't a verdict on your worth. It's a signal about the market. If you show undeniable proof of your value, with clear results and saved costs, and the company still won't advance you, you have your answer: you are a strong performer stuck at a company that doesn't reward high performance.
A leader sees a "no" as data. It means either your proof wasn't clear enough (fix the proof), or you are at a company that doesn't promote on merit. Either way, the next step is action. Take your success report to a company that understands the math.
Is imposter syndrome more common at senior levels?
Yes, and the data is striking. A 2024 Korn Ferry study found that 71% of U.S. CEOs and 65% of senior executives report imposter syndrome symptoms, compared to 33% of early-stage professionals. The more responsibility you carry, the more exposed you feel. This is normal. The difference is that leaders build systems to counter it instead of waiting for the feeling to pass.
Can imposter syndrome ever go away completely?
For most people, it doesn't disappear. It gets smaller. The goal isn't to eliminate self-doubt; it's to stop letting self-doubt make decisions for you. When you have a Proof Folder full of real results and a habit of acting without waiting for permission, the doubt becomes background noise instead of the deciding vote. You stop managing your feelings and start managing your outcomes.
Stop Asking for Permission. Start Proving Your Value.
Modern companies don't reward quiet modesty. They promote the people who take charge with confidence backed by results. You have the results — now own them.
Every day you wait for permission, someone less qualified but more assertive moves ahead. Hesitation doesn't protect you — it erases you.
Lead with evidence. Present your Proof Folder. Make the business case for why you belong at the table — and stop waiting to be invited.
If you're also navigating a larger career shift, see our guide on overcoming the fear of starting over for the same mindset applied to career transitions.
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