Imposter Syndrome: A Challenge to Overcome or a Strength?

Imposter syndrome is both, depending on how strong it is and what it makes you do. When self-doubt pushes you to prepare, ask questions and listen, it can work in your favor. When it stops you from applying, speaking up or sleeping, it's a problem worth tackling directly. The useful skill is telling the two apart.

This article is for professionals who feel like they're "about to be found out" after a promotion or new role, and for managers and HR leaders who see talented people holding themselves back.

Key takeaways

• Imposter feelings are common among capable people. A large review found reported rates from 9% to 82%, depending on how studies measured it.
• Research suggests workplace imposter thoughts can come with real strengths, such as being more attentive to others.
• The same research and reviews link imposter feelings with lower self-esteem, anxiety and depression, so they shouldn't be ignored or encouraged.
• Clear feedback, defined expectations and a culture that treats mistakes as learning reduce the harmful side.

What is imposter syndrome, really?

Psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes first described the "impostor phenomenon" in 1978. The core experience is crediting your success to luck, timing or other people's mistakes, and believing you've fooled everyone into thinking you're more capable than you are. Getting "found out" feels like a matter of time.

What makes it stubborn is that evidence doesn't fix it. Promotions, good reviews and finished projects get explained away. The belief isn't really about the evidence; it's about the gap between how others see you and how you see yourself.

It's also widespread. A 2020 systematic review in the Journal of General Internal Medicine looked at 62 studies covering more than 14,000 participants and found reported prevalence ranging from 9% to 82%. The authors put most of that spread down to the different screening tools and cutoffs used. The review also found imposter feelings frequently show up alongside depression and anxiety.

A realistic scenario: a newly promoted engineering manager stays up rewriting a routine status update three times because they're sure the VP will spot that they "don't really get it." The update was fine the first time. That's the pattern.

When should you treat imposter syndrome as a problem?

At high intensity it has real costs. People skip opportunities they're qualified for, keep good ideas to themselves, over-prepare well past the point of usefulness and carry constant anxiety into ordinary meetings. Over time, capable people stay in roles below their ability, and organizations lose the contributions they hired them for.

The belief behind it is usually inaccurate. If you've shown competence in an area again and again, the conviction that you're a fraud is a distortion, not a fair assessment. The goal isn't false confidence; it's accurate self-assessment. It's worth knowing, though, that the 2020 review found no published studies testing treatments specifically for imposter syndrome, so be wary of anyone selling a guaranteed fix.

Managers have a role here. Creating a team where people can say "I'm not sure" without being judged is one of the most practical things you can do. If imposter feelings are tangled up with more serious distress, this manager's guide to anxiety and depression at work covers how to respond.

Can imposter syndrome actually be a strength?

There's a serious case that it can, at moderate levels. People who worry about falling short often prepare more, ask for more feedback, stay curious and stay open to correction.

Research supports part of this. In a study published in the Academy of Management Journal, MIT researcher Basima Tewfik looked at an investment firm, a physician training program and two online experiments. People who reported more "workplace impostor thoughts" were rated as more interpersonally effective. In the physician setting, trainees with these thoughts made more eye contact, nodded more and used more open gestures, and patients rated them as more empathetic. In the experiments, they asked more questions. The study found no drop in their overall performance.

The caveats matter. Tewfik noted that these thoughts still lower self-esteem and shouldn't be encouraged, that the upside depends on working with others (people in solitary roles may not benefit), and that more research is needed. So the takeaway isn't "suffering makes you better." It's that the impulse underneath (taking your work seriously, not taking success for granted) is worth keeping while you calm the part that destabilizes you.

How can you tell which kind you have?

Use this quick self-check. Most people land on one side most of the time.

Signal it's working for you	Signal it's working against you
You prepare a bit more, then act	You prepare endlessly and still delay
You ask questions and seek feedback	You avoid feedback because you dread it
You apply for stretch roles while nervous	You don't apply for roles you're qualified for
Doubt passes after the meeting	Doubt affects your sleep, mood or health
You can name what you did well	You credit every win to luck or others

If most of your answers are in the right-hand column, treat it as a problem to work on, and consider talking with a coach, a mentor or, if anxiety or low mood is persistent, a qualified mental health professional or your doctor.

Clear expectations help either way. When people know what "good" looks like in their role, they can judge themselves against something concrete instead of vague comparisons. A practical way to do that is to check yourself against these signs you're doing a great job at work.

What makes imposter syndrome worse at work?

It isn't only personal. Workplaces can feed it.

• Vague feedback. When people don't hear clearly how they're doing, they fill the silence with the worst assumption. Regular, specific and honest feedback, including about gaps, replaces anxious guessing with real information. Using your HRMS for performance appraisals and ongoing feedback makes that habit easier to keep.
• Looking different from "success." People who differ from the dominant profile in an organization, by background, identity or working style, are more likely to feel they don't belong when the visible examples of success don't look like them.
• Blame cultures. When mistakes are punished instead of analyzed, the fear of being found out has real stakes, and people stop taking the intellectual risks good work needs.
• Overload. Imposter feelings and burnout often show up together in people who give everything while privately doubting they belong. For HR teams in particular, this plan for reducing HR team burnout is a useful starting point.

What practical steps help?

Formal treatment research is thin, but these habits are low-risk and many people find them useful:

1. Keep a facts log. Write down specific contributions and results each week. When the doubt gets loud, you have a record rather than a feeling.
2. Re-attribute wins. After a success, ask "what did I do that contributed to this?" and write one concrete answer.
3. Say it out loud. Talk about it with a trusted peer or mentor. Most people find capable colleagues feel the same, which takes the sting out.
4. Ask for specific feedback. "What's one thing I should keep doing and one thing to change?" gets you real data.
5. Act before you feel ready. Apply, present or volunteer while still nervous. Confidence often follows action, not the other way round.
6. Know when to get help. If doubt comes with ongoing anxiety, low mood or trouble sleeping, speak with a doctor or mental health professional.

Frequently asked questions

Is imposter syndrome a mental health diagnosis?

No. It isn't a formal diagnosis. It describes a pattern of thoughts where people doubt their abilities and credit success to luck. Research does link it with anxiety and depression, though, so if your doubt comes with persistent worry, low mood or poor sleep, talk to a doctor or a qualified mental health professional rather than just pushing through.

Does imposter syndrome go away with experience?

Often it eases as people settle into a role and gather evidence they can trust, but it can return with each new promotion or bigger stage. That's normal. What changes with practice is how quickly you notice the pattern and how much it shapes your decisions. Keeping a record of results speeds that up.

How can managers help someone with imposter syndrome?

Give clear expectations and frequent, specific feedback, both praise and areas to improve. Name the exact behavior that worked rather than saying "great job." Encourage stretch assignments with support, treat mistakes as learning, and make it normal to ask questions. Avoid dismissing the feeling; acknowledge it and point to evidence instead.

What to do next

• Start a weekly facts log of your contributions and results this Friday.
• Use the self-check table above and note which column you fall in most.
• Ask your manager or a peer for one specific piece of feedback this week.
• If you lead a team, add clear role expectations and regular check-ins to your next one-to-ones.

Sources

• Bravata et al. (2020), Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome: a Systematic Review, Journal of General Internal Medicine
• MIT News: Study finds an unexpected upside to workplace impostor thoughts (Tewfik, Academy of Management Journal)

Last reviewed: October 2026.