Do you feel like you don’t deserve that raise? Or that you fooled everyone when you landed the new job? Or that you’re not smart enough to nail your assignment? It’s not just you. This type of self-doubt — often called “imposter syndrome” — affects millions of people across all sorts of demographics and job types.
Overcoming imposter syndrome is a challenge. But people can take certain steps to reduce these feelings and arrive at a level of self-awareness that sets them up for success.
Common Signs of Imposter Syndrome
- Inability to assess competence and skills
- Attributing success to external factors
- Not fully participating in work
- Fearing that you won’t live up to expectations
- Setting unrealistic goals and standards
What Is Imposter Syndrome?
Impostor syndrome refers to the negative self-perception that you’re undeserving of your achievements and that other people are mistaken when they think you’re a competent person. Psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes first described the phenomenon in 1978 while researching why high-achieving women believe themselves to be inadequate. Although this initial research focused on women specifically, anyone can experience imposter syndrome, regardless of gender or job status.
Indeed, rates of imposter syndrome vary wildly depending on the survey. It affects all sorts of people — college students, medical professionals, teachers, CEOs and everyone in between. But it appears to be more prevalent among women than men, particularly young women.
Is Imposter Syndrome a Mental Health Diagnosis?
Imposter syndrome is not an officially recognized mental health diagnosis. While it is widely discussed in psychology and workplace research, it does not appear as a diagnosable condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
That said, imposter syndrome can still have a meaningful impact on a person’s mental well-being. Persistent self-doubt and fear of failure may contribute to stress, anxiety, burnout or low self-esteem, and these feelings can occur alongside diagnosable mental health conditions like anxiety or depression. If feelings of inadequacy become overwhelming or begin interfering with work, relationships or daily life, speaking with a licensed mental health professional can help determine whether another condition may be present and identify strategies for managing those thoughts.
Signs You Might Have Imposter Syndrome
Impostor syndrome can show up in a number of ways. For some people, no matter how many promotions or outstanding performance evaluations they get, they still feel like they don’t deserve success.
Inability to Assess Competence and Skills
What are your strengths? For those who find themselves drawing a blank when asked this question, this could signal that imposter syndrome is at play. Everyone brings their own unique set of attributes and skills to a team, but someone with imposter syndrome may have a more difficult time recognizing their own.
Attributing Success to External Factors
People with imposter syndrome often attribute luck or coincidence to their successes, rather than their own work ethic or expertise. Being humble at work can be seen as respectable by colleagues and customers, but someone who doesn’t acknowledge their own influence in a key project, product or other success could be having imposter feelings.
Not Fully Participating in Work
If someone has imposter syndrome, this can lead to them feeling like they don’t bring anything beneficial to their coworkers or classmates. This individual may not share ideas in meetings, ask questions or take on new responsibilities. Instead, they may opt to lay low and let others take the reins.
“It might manifest in somebody I refer to as ‘flying under the radar,’” said Valerie Young, co-founder of the Imposter Syndrome Institute and author of The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It. “So it might be the person who you know is perfectly capable and qualified, but they don’t speak up.”
Fearing That You Won’t Live Up to Expectations
People with imposter syndrome often place a large amount of pressure on themselves and believe they will never truly live up to expectations. This feeling also frequently coincides with a fear of failure, which can discourage capable employees from taking on new challenges or putting in their full effort.
Setting Unrealistic Goals and Standards
People experiencing imposter syndrome may overwork themselves and set unrealistic goals. This can look like working outside of regular hours, tackling too many projects at once or not making time outside of work to enjoy leisure activities. This often is rooted in a need to prove themselves worthy of the work they do.
Examples of Imposter Syndrome at Work, School and Leadership
Imposter syndrome can look different depending on the setting, but it often follows the same pattern of persistent self-doubt and difficulty recognizing one’s own abilities despite evidence of success.
Imposter Syndrome at Work
Imposter syndrome in the workplace often shows up as persistent self-doubt despite strong performance. Employees experiencing it may dismiss praise, attribute promotions to luck or believe they were hired by mistake. They may also overwork to prove themselves, avoid applying for new roles or hesitate to share ideas in meetings out of fear they’ll be judged as incompetent.
Examples:
- Feeling convinced you don’t deserve a promotion and that management made a mistake.
- Assuming positive performance reviews are the result of luck rather than abilities.
- Spending far longer than necessary on assignments because you’re afraid of making even a small mistake.
- Avoiding speaking up in meetings for fear of saying something “stupid.”
- Declining to apply for a stretch assignment or leadership opportunity because you don’t feel qualified.
Imposter Syndrome at School
Students with imposter syndrome may feel they don’t deserve admission to a school or acceptance into a competitive program, even when they have earned it through hard work. They may assume classmates are more intelligent, become overly anxious about grades or avoid asking questions because they worry it will reveal they aren’t as capable as others think.
Examples:
- Believing you were admitted to a competitive college by accident.
- Earning an A on an exam but assuming the test was just easy.
- Feeling like every classmate understands the material better than you do.
- Avoiding asking questions in class because you worry it will expose your lack of knowledge.
- Thinking you’ll eventually fail because you aren’t “smart enough” despite consistently earning good grades.
Imposter Syndrome in Leadership
Even experienced managers and executives can experience imposter syndrome. In fact, it affects a staggering 82 percent of people in leadership positions, according to one study. New leaders may second-guess their decisions, feel unqualified to manage a team or believe they must have all the answers to be respected. Instead of delegating work, they may take on too much themselves or avoid making difficult decisions because they fear making mistakes will expose them as unfit to lead.
Examples:
- Feeling unqualified after being promoted into your first management role.
- Believing your team doesn’t respect you because you’re secretly not experienced enough.
- Constantly asking others to validate your decisions before moving forward.
- Refusing to delegate important work because you think only you can ensure it’s done well.
- Crediting your team’s success entirely to luck or other people’s efforts instead of recognizing your own leadership.
Types of Imposter Syndrome
Young identified five distinct ways that impostor syndrome shows up in people. Each person’s experience of imposter syndrome is different, but there are some traits people may hold in common.
The Expert
According to Young, experts will not feel satisfied when finishing a task until they feel that they know everything about the subject. This person may spend so much time searching for information that it can be hard to complete tasks and projects.
The Perfectionist
Perfectionists often experience high levels of anxiety, doubt and worry — especially when they set very challenging goals for themselves that they are unable to achieve. A perfectionist will focus on areas where they could have done better rather than celebrate their achievements.
The Natural Genius
Natural geniuses may master many new skills quickly and easily, but they may feel ashamed and weak when faced with a goal that is too difficult.
The Soloist
The soloist is a committed individualist that prefers to work alone, and may fear that asking for help will reveal their incompetence. They may even refuse and discourage help in order to prove their self-worth.
The Superhero
The superhero often excels due to extreme effort and overwork. This person is more susceptible to burnout, which can affect physical and mental well-being and relationships with others.
What Causes Imposter Syndrome?
It might be hard to understand why people who are so obviously talented would feel like imposters, but there are actually quite a few factors at play.
Differences Between Peers
Young pointed out that one common catalyst for feeling out of place is being different from those around you. People who are forced to represent a certain group within a space may feel like an imposter simply because they are not surrounded by people who look, act or think like they do. That’s why a woman on an engineering team made up mostly of men, for instance, might experience imposter feelings.
Educational Background
People’s education plays a role as well. Some may feel that they didn’t earn enough academic accolades to fit into their role if they took a less traditional route, while others may think their degrees didn’t prepare them for real world experiences.
Personality
Some people may be more susceptible to experiencing imposter syndrome than others because of their personality. A 2014 study revealed that the Big Five personality traits may contribute to why people experience imposter syndrome in certain ways. The study showed, for example, that a person’s self-efficacy was the most prevalent factor in developing imposter syndrome, with secondary traits being perfectionism and neuroticism.
Anxiety and Fear of Success or Failure
People with anxiety may harbor feelings of being an imposter because of their anxiety, as they often overlap with one another. Some people might also fear success and have anxiety surrounding achievement.
According to a 2018 study from the Universal Journal of Educational Research, people who fear success may purposefully avoid it by setting low goals for themselves and leaning on easy tasks. They may fear success because they have anxieties about overworking as well as being successful but being sabotaged in some way. They might also believe that successful people’s personal relationships are negatively impacted by their success.
A fear of failure is also a common trigger for these feelings, according to Pauline Clance, a psychologist and author of The Impostor Phenomenon. As a result, those feelings can result in people missing out on advice from their peers or trying new things.
Trying Something New
Another factor that might contribute to feeling like an imposter is taking on a new challenge, like starting a new role or embracing a promotion. It’s not unusual for people to experience some self-doubt when facing new challenges, but imposter syndrome intensifies these feelings.
Psychiatrist and author Carole Lieberman told the American Psychological Association that a person with imposter syndrome “has an all-encompassing fear of being found out to not have what it takes.”
How Imposter Syndrome Affects Work and Mental Health
Imposter syndrome can affect far more than a person’s confidence. Over time, persistent self-doubt may influence career decisions, workplace performance and mental well-being, contributing to behaviors and challenges that can make it harder to succeed and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Delayed Career Advancement
Outside of increased levels of stress and worry — which can negatively impact physical and mental health — people experiencing feelings of imposter syndrome may have trouble advancing in their career.
The 2014 study suggests that people with imposter syndrome tend to stay in their positions because they don’t believe they can do better. This is because people may underestimate their skills and don’t recognize how roles, particularly roles that would advance their career, might work for them and their abilities.
Habits of Overworking
People whose imposter tendencies manifest as overworking may experience success from over-preparation. However, this cycle of over-preparation leading to success reinforces the idea that extra work always needs to be done and success would not be possible without it.
Potential Burnout
Impostor syndrome can easily lead to burnout. People who perpetually feel like imposters will eventually hit a wall of exhaustion and lose a clear sense of direction for their career.
It’s crucial for people to recognize the overarching effects of imposter syndrome, Young said. It holds consequences for everyone, and that’s something that shouldn’t be underestimated.
Evidence-Based Ways to Overcome Imposter Syndrome
While imposter syndrome appears to be a common theme in many workplaces, there are many ways to combat it.
Recognize Your Feelings of Self-Doubt
The first step to overcoming imposter syndrome is recognizing it for what it is, and being able to talk about it. Marc Teer, CEO of education platform Black Spectacles, said it’s crucial for leaders to maintain a sense of openness and transparency with their teams. By owning up to their mistakes, leaders set an example for the rest of the team.
It’s key for teams to carve out a space for honesty, Teer added. That’s why his team uses weekly meetings to share “screw up, learn up” stories, where they discuss any mistakes they’ve made and what they learned from them.
Avoid Comparing Yourself to Others
It’s also important to do your best in avoiding comparing yourself to others, and to understand that no one is perfect at their job. If you can change your thinking around what you believe you should be, you’ll be able to truly focus on what you’re capable of.
“I want them — when they’re having a normal imposter moment — to hit the pause button and try to become consciously aware of the conversation that’s going on in their head,” Young said, “and then step back and reframe it the way somebody who doesn’t feel like an imposter would.”
Seek Out Community and Support
People experiencing imposter syndrome can also benefit from finding support within their given industry, Teer said. Finding mentors in your community can make you feel more connected and gives you a better sense of how others have found success.
How Managers Can Help Employees With Imposter Syndrome
Managers can’t eliminate imposter syndrome on their teams, but they can create an environment where self-doubt is less likely to take hold. By providing consistent support, recognizing accomplishments and encouraging open conversations, leaders can help employees build confidence and develop a more accurate view of their abilities.
Provide Clear Expectations and Feedback
Uncertainty can fuel imposter syndrome. Managers should clearly communicate what success looks like, set realistic performance expectations and provide regular feedback instead of waiting for annual reviews. Knowing where they stand helps employees rely on objective evidence of their performance rather than assumptions about how they're doing.
Recognize Achievements Regularly
Employees with imposter syndrome often dismiss their successes as luck or timing rather than the result of their skills. To counter this, managers should offer specific, consistent recognition (both internally and externally) that ties accomplishments to an employee’s strengths and contributions instead of generic praise. Plus, regular one-on-one meetings, constructive feedback and peer recognition programs can reinforce progress and help employees develop confidence over time.
Normalize Having Imposter Feelings
Many high achievers experience imposter syndrome at some point in their careers, but employees may assume they’re the only ones struggling. Managers can reduce the stigma by acknowledging that these feelings are common, especially after promotions, new responsibilities or major career transitions.
Contextualizing imposter feelings is the next step in the normalization process, Young said. Leaders should sit down with their colleagues to discuss the possible reasons why they feel like an imposter. This can also be used as an opportunity to reframe those negative thoughts with evidence of their accomplishments and growth.
Encourage Growth Instead of Perfection
Employees with imposter syndrome often believe they need to perform flawlessly to prove they belong. Managers can help shift that mindset by emphasizing learning, experimentation and continuous improvement over 100 percent perfection. Treating mistakes as opportunities to develop new skills — not signs of incompetence — can make employees more willing to take on challenges and less fearful of failure.
Support Professional Development
Giving employees opportunities to build new skills can strengthen both competence and confidence. Encouraging training, mentorship, stretch assignments or leadership development programs signals that the company believes in an employee’s potential. And as employees gain experience and see themselves succeed in new situations, they’re more likely to recognize that their achievements are earned.
When to Seek Professional Support for Imposter Syndrome
Occasional self-doubt is common, but it may be time to seek support if your feelings of imposter syndrome become persistent or begin interfering with your work, education, relationships or overall well-being. For example, if fear of being exposed as a fraud causes you to avoid opportunities, experience chronic anxiety, overwork to the point of burnout, a licensed mental health professional can help. Through approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a therapist can help you identify unhelpful thought patterns, build self-confidence and develop healthier ways of responding to self-doubt.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the types of imposter syndrome?
The five main types of imposter syndrome include:
- The Expert
- The Perfectionist
- The Natural Genius
- The Soloist
- The Superhero
What does imposter syndrome feel like?
People with imposter syndrome can feel doubtful in their abilities, undeserving of their achievements and that they will never be able to meet expectations. They often have a fear of being "found out" as a fraud in what they do or achieve.
How do you know you have imposter syndrome?
Imposter syndrome manifests in all kinds of ways. Here are some of the more common signs:
- You feel like you don't deserve your accomplishments, even when you've earned them.
- You attribute your success to luck or timing rather than your own abilities.
- You worry that others will eventually discover you're not as capable as they think.
- You overwork or avoid new opportunities because you don't feel qualified enough.
- You dismiss praise and focus on your mistakes despite consistent evidence that you're performing well.
What causes imposter syndrome?
Imposter syndrome doesn’t have a single cause. It typically develops from a mix of personality traits, past experiences and environmental pressures.
People who are perfectionistic, highly self-critical or prone to anxiety may be more vulnerable, especially if they set unrealistically high standards for themselves. It can also be reinforced by early academic or workplace environments where success is heavily tied to comparison, competition or external validation. Transitions — such as starting a new job, entering a selective school or moving into a leadership role — can trigger it, too, as people adjust to higher expectations and unfamiliar responsibilities. And in some cases, lack of representation or feeling like an “outlier” in a group can further intensify self-doubt and the belief that one doesn’t belong.
