Many capable, high-performing professionals carry a private concern they rarely want to articulate.They may hesitate before speaking. They question decisions they are fully qualified to make. They assume others are more confident, more certain, more “ready”. They try to stay under the radar, just enough, to avoid being “found out.” They worry about what others think of them; how they look, what they say, the advice they give, whether they’re perceived as competent and trustworthy…exhausting.
We tend to group all of this worry under the label, Imposter Syndrome. The label is unhelpful. Both words are negative and it’s portrayed by many as something you need to conquer or overcome. We are so used to seeing and hearing the words that we are almost too willing to accept our fate. We must have it too! But these feelings most often appear at moments of progression: taking on more complex work moving to a leadership role becoming more visible with clients operating with greater autonomy and judgement
When people step into unfamiliar responsibility, awareness increases before confidence catches up. Grab a post-it and write that down! That gap is uncomfortable but it’s also entirely normal. The difficulty arises when it’s misunderstood. Instead of seeing it as a developmental signal, people try to manage the feeling by: overworking in the hope that compensates for their perceived shortfall. staying quiet rather than testing ideas. avoiding opportunities. delaying decisions they are more than capable of making.
Over time, this doesn’t just affect confidence, it affects performance, which ultimately affects profits. The solution isn’t to eliminate the feeling. It’s to reframe it. At Fell, we are passionate about reducing the unnecessary stress and equipping you to handle the pressures that inevitably come with demanding roles. This is an unnecessary stress! What we’re often seeing is confident capability meeting a new level of humility; knowing what you already know, while recognising what you still need to learn as your role expands. When we allow ourselves to normalise this, we stop managing doubt and start using it. Confidence stabilises earlier, effectiveness improves, and talent delivers at the level firms actually need. Sometimes progress doesn’t come from fixing people. It comes from fixing the story we tell about what growth feels like. And for those of you who missed our last email on this topic…Here’s the irony: the less competent professionals rarely suffer from imposter syndrome. Feeling like an imposter is actually a sign that you’re self-aware and holding yourself to a high standard. In other words, it’s usually the capable, conscientious professionals who get it. So go do what only you can do - brilliantly, imperfectly, boldly. You’re doing great!
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