Imposter Syndrome is not a confidence issue

It was a busy Tuesday. Tiernan* was 8 weeks into his management career. Regret was not quite the right word for what he was feeling but the pressure was immense. Life as an individual contributor had been easier because he knew what he was doing. He was used to solving problems but now it felt like there were multiple fires to be put out at all times. Like a game of whack-a-mole, once he put one out, another would appear out of nowhere. Waking up in the middle of the night to think about work was new and it was weighing on his mind during the day.

“I’m feeling a bit out of my depth”, Tiernan told his new colleague Mike over a slice of pizza during their shared lunch break. “Ahh don’t worry, it’s normal to have imposter syndrome in the early days. Just fake it ’til you make it and you’ll build confidence.”

What’s the problem with that advice?

1. Imposter Syndrome is not a confidence issue (though it can feel like that)

2. Fake it ’til you make it can do the opposite of building confidence

3. It’s normal to feel uncomfortable when you’re new in a high-pressure environment

Let’s break these down.

1. Imposter syndrome isn’t simply a confidence issue

Imposter Syndrome or Imposter Phenomenon, as researchers call it (1), is a label given to a psychological behavioural pattern. Through my academic research, I realised that Imposter Syndrome is a larger pattern with several sub-patterns within (2). You may have come across perfectionism, people-pleasing, avoidance or overworking. They are all patterns that are connected to what is referred to as Imposter Syndrome.

Confidence is different. Someone who lacks confidence is too focused on the risk that comes with taking a specific action. For example, Clara usually sits silently in her team meetings at work. However, she always has good ideas to contribute. The problem is that she’s too worried about embarrassing herself to speak up. Her colleague Alice always speaks up, which makes Clara feel less confident.

Alice has been practicing speaking up for years now so it’s no longer a problem. She thinks nothing of it. Clara focuses on the negative outcome so her good ideas never reach the surface. How this differs from Imposter Syndrome is the pattern underneath. Perhaps Clara is afraid of saying the wrong thing and is known by her peers as someone who always gets it right. She’s protecting her 100% hit rate. Perhaps she’s afraid that speaking up will expose her for not being as competent as people always say she is.

2. Fake it ’til you make it isn't necessarily confidence-building

Faking is not a good strategy for building confidence. Why? If you tell yourself your accomplishments are all fake anyway, then guess what... you probably won’t feel confident. In fact, this type of mental strategy increases how risky things can feel. It’s a bit like building an evidence base in reverse. Instead of evidence that you’re capable, you’re repeatedly showing yourself that you’re apparently fraudulent.

This all happens inside your mind. To someone on the outside, it probably looks like you did a good job. You went up to the Project Manager and pitched your idea. What they don’t see is the scrap with your inner critic before and the conclusion you reach afterwards: he was just being nice. I probably got him at a good time (3).

3. Sometimes feeling out of your depth is completely rational

When you’re like Tiernan and you’ve only been part of the team for 56 days, it’s normal to feel pressure. Pressure means something is outstanding or needs to get done. In other words, there’s work to do. Learning is inevitable. And because growth is generally uncomfortable, it’s not useful to hand Tiernan the Imposter Syndrome label.

What’s useful is to help him understand what he needs to work on to feel better (4). There are many things he could work on because everything is new so he’d probably appreciate knowing the best place to start. Trying to do everything is never a good idea. Everything is unspecific and doesn’t really mean anything so our brain spirals because it’s not pointing at anything specific.

One could make the argument that Tiernan’s experience fits the Imposter Syndrome label. I agree, you could see it like that. What I question however is whether it’s the most useful way to see the situation. What will help Tiernan more: a diagnostic-sounding label with a scary name that he can spend hours Googling? Or a direct path to closing the skill gap by developing the necessary skills to succeed in his role?

Each of these deserves a much deeper look. The descriptions only scratch the surface. Imposter Syndrome is a lot more complicated and debated than the pop-psychology definitions will have you know (5). Trust me, I spent months scouring through journal articles, when I was writing my Master’s thesis on Imposter Syndrome in coaching. So you don’t have to, I’ll be publishing more blog posts to connect the dots.

I’ll be publishing a detailed article on each of the topics above, and I'll link them here as they're published.

Stress patterns like Imposter Syndrome usually don’t resolve themselves and can get worse over time. If you felt seen by this post, let’s talk. My mission is to help you resolve these patterns so that you can be confidently yourself at work without feeling that things are too good to be true and will collapse soon.

About the author - Chris Baeuchle

• MSc Personal & Management Coaching, UCC

• 7+ years tech leadership (Apple, Indeed, komoot)

• International Association of Mind Coaches

*Tiernan and other named characters are synthesised from real experiences but don’t refer to specific people.

Sources:

(1) Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241–247. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0086006

(2) Leonhardt, M., Bechtoldt, M. N., & Rohrmann, S. (2017). All impostors aren't alike: Differentiating the impostor phenomenon. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1505. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01505

Hill, A. P., & Gotwals, J. K. (2025). A meta-analysis of multidimensional perfectionism and impostor phenomenon. Journal of Research in Personality, 118, 104639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2025.104639

(3) Brauer, K., & Proyer, R. T. (2022). The impostor phenomenon and causal attributions of positive feedback on intelligence tests. Personality and Individual Differences, 194, 111663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.111663

(4) Baeuchle, C. (2026). Between personal and professional: An IPA study of coaches' experience of identity tensions and the imposter phenomenon [Unpublished master's thesis]. University College Cork.

(5) Gisselbaek, M., Seyour, M., Saxena, S., Berger‐Estilita, J., LaDonna, K. A., Elia, N., & Savoldelli, G. L. (2025). Rethinking the impostor phenomenon: An umbrella review of concept, context and interventions. Medical Education, 60(6), 607–624. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.70076

Reflecting on working with Richard Bandler

Richard Bandler’s Personal Enhancement Workshop in London, May 2026.

Dear past Chris.

You deserve to be in the room.

(Here’s the evidence).

Over the years I’ve invested in myself significantly.

After all, it’s not like we learn how to be a regulated adult in school.

May 2026 blew previous investments out of the water.

It cost 5x more than what I previously spent and it stung.

But that was the point.

I felt the vote of confidence towards myself.

Those who pay, pay attention.

And no one better to pay attention to.

Richard Bandler was in good form.

You may not have heard of him.

A lot of his work has been “borrowed” without acknowledgment.

Most people know Tony Robbins.

His empire is openly built on Richard’s work.

A man who questioned conventional talk therapy decades ago by asking:

Why does this take so long?

And that was the exact energy he brought into the room.

Razor sharp wit, an abundance of skill and his trademark humour.

I was wearing two hats:

The client and the student.

My goal in 2026 is to cut my stress levels by 50%.

Richard knew exactly how to help.

His skills are unquestionable.

His public reputation is not.

The internet labels his work pseudoscience.

People who need it most, are also most sceptical.

Believing no one can help them.

Having to stay in that limiting pattern forever.

“This is just who I am”.

I learned a lot about who I am in recent years.

Because I refused to put my limitations down to personality.

Ten years ago I would not have dreamed of being in that room.

Who am I to spend three days with Richard Bandler?

Now I have the answer.

I’m the guy who learned directly from him.

I grew both as a person and in my craft.

I invested significantly to be in that room.

I'd do it again.