Imposter Syndrome Isn’t Always a Confidence Problem
I’ve experienced imposter syndrome many times throughout my career.
Not because I wasn’t qualified.
Not because I didn’t know what I was doing.
And not necessarily because I lacked confidence.
Sometimes, I experienced it simply because I was doing something new.
That distinction has become increasingly important to me in the work I do with people navigating career change, career development and career wellbeing. Because sometimes, what we interpret as imposter syndrome is actually the uncomfortable feeling of developing into something new.
When I first started working in workplace rehabilitation, much of my work was with people experiencing physical injuries.
In some ways, these career transitions felt easier to understand. Take a truck driver who has injured their arm, for example. They might need surgery, rehabilitation and time away from work. They may have some temporary or ongoing limitations around how much they can drive or what physical tasks they can perform.
There is often a clearer pathway to talk through:
What can you do now?
What might you be able to do in the future?
What adjustments might help you return to your existing role?
And if that isn't possible, what other work could use your skills and experience?
The career conversation can be quite tangible. But as my career developed, so did the people I supported.
I began working more extensively with people experiencing psychological injuries and mental health challenges. I worked with veterans who had experienced both physical and psychological injuries, and with people across a huge range of occupations from blue-collar workers through to highly experienced professionals and leaders.
Over time, I found myself working with principals, senior leaders, corporate executives and highly educated professionals with master's degrees and years of experience in their fields.
And this is where something interesting happened.
I started experiencing my own version of imposter syndrome.
“But they know more than me…”
I remember thinking:
They have a master's degree.
They've managed teams of 100 people.
They've worked in their profession for decades.
They have qualifications and experiences that I don't have.
And sometimes that little voice would ask: “Who am I to be supporting this person?”
But the more I experienced this, the more I began to understand something.
I didn't need to have their qualifications.
I didn't need to have managed a team of 100 people.
I didn't need to have lived their exact career.
My role wasn't to be the expert in their profession.
My role was to bring my own expertise in career development, career counselling and career wellbeing and to create a space where they could step back, reflect, make sense of their experience and consider what might come next.
That was something I did know how to do. And I was continuing to learn how to do it better.
Maybe it's not “I'm not capable”
I think there is an important distinction between: “I'm not capable of doing this”
and “I haven't mastered this yet.”
They can feel remarkably similar.
But they tell us two very different stories.
The first can make us question our ability, our qualifications and whether we belong.
The second leaves room for development. And that is often what career development looks like.
We don't always feel confident before we do something new.
Sometimes confidence comes because we've done the thing, reflected on the experience and realised Oh. I can actually do this!
A career change can bring this feeling (impostor syndrome) to the surface
This is one reason career transitions can be so psychologically challenging.
You might be highly experienced in your current career and suddenly feel like a beginner when you move into something new.
You might be:
moving into leadership
changing industries
returning to work after a career break
starting a business
stepping into consulting
taking on a new professional identity
learning a completely new skill
or simply becoming more visible in your work
Your previous experience doesn't disappear.
But you are suddenly operating in an environment where you don't yet have the same level of familiarity.
And that can feel uncomfortable.
Especially when you're a seasoned professional who is used to being competent.
So what if the question isn't “Do I belong here?”
When imposter feelings show up, we can easily get caught in questions like:
Am I good enough?
Do I really belong here?
What if people realise I don't know as much as they think I do?
Who am I to be doing this?
But perhaps better questions we can ask.
What am I learning here?
What is this experience teaching me?
What skills am I developing?
What am I discovering about myself?
What can I take from this experience into the next one?
That shift doesn't magically make the uncomfortable feelings disappear. But it can change the meaning we give them.
Instead of seeing discomfort as evidence that we aren't capable, we can begin to see it as information.
I'm doing something I haven't mastered yet. And that's okay.
Keep an “I Am Awesome” folder
One practical thing I regularly encourage clients to do is create an “I Am Awesome” folder.
I have one myself.
It isn't about collecting evidence that you're better than everyone else.
It's about collecting evidence that you are capable.
Save the things that are easy to forget when you're having a difficult day:
A great piece of feedback.
A successful project.
A problem you solved.
A difficult conversation you handled well.
A new skill you've developed.
A breakthrough with a client.
A kind message from a colleague.
A testimonial.
A moment where you stepped outside your comfort zone and it worked out.
Recently, I was reminded of this in a very personal way.
I have been supporting a client who is highly educated and experienced, with a background as a teacher and later a psychologist. Working with people who have extensive professional knowledge of their own can sometimes trigger those familiar imposter feelings for me.
Do I know enough? Am I the right person to support them? What can I offer someone with this level of experience?
And then I received some feedback that reminded me to look at the situation differently.
“Her knowledge and expertise has been invaluable in helping me recognise my strengths, rebuild confidence in my abilities and develop a professional profile that reflects my skills and experience.”
She went on to say:
“I honestly don't know what my journey would have looked like without her in my corner.”
Reading that was a good reminder for me.
I don't need to have her qualifications, her professional background or her exact experience to be valuable to her.
I bring something different.
And perhaps that's one of the things imposter syndrome can make us forget: we don't need to be the most knowledgeable person in the room to have something valuable to contribute.
The testimonial didn't suddenly make me more qualified.
It simply reminded me of the value I already bring.
That's what the “I Am Awesome” folder is for.
Antidote to Imposter Syndrome
I think we sometimes have an expectation that the more experienced we become, the less uncertain we should feel.
But perhaps the opposite can be true.
As we grow, our careers become more complex.
We take on new responsibilities.
We change direction.
We develop new interests.
We enter new environments.
Thinking about your own career? Sometimes reading about something is the beginning of recognising that it’s time to look more closely at your own career.
The Nurture Ambition Pathway offers personalised support to help you make sense of where you are, explore what’s next and create a career that feels sustainable and meaningful.
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