Most experienced executives have that negative voice inside their head, but can move past it with this advice.
The most capable leaders I know still wrestle with imposter syndrome. These are the ones who’ve built something real, led through hard seasons, and earned every seat they’re sitting in.
That used to confuse me. Now it makes sense. The voice telling them they don’t belong isn’t telling the truth. Most high-performing leaders just give it more authority than it’s earned.
Imposter syndrometargets those who care the most
Imposter syndrome most often shows up
Imposter syndrome most often shows up in the people best qualified to be in the room.
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A 2024 Korn Ferry study found that 71 percent of U.S. CEOs experience imposter syndrome, and 85 percent of the CEOs surveyed said they’re fully competent in the role. These aren’t first-time founders finding their footing. These are the people running companies in this country, right now, at the top.
Leaders don’t outgrow it, either. Research from NerdWallet in 2022 found that 78 percent of business leaders have experienced imposter syndrome during their careers, and it doesn’t ease up as they climb. It can follow them all to the top job.
A leader who never questions whether they belong
A leader who never questions whether they belong probably isn’t pushing themselves hard enough. They’re comfortable taking up space instead of challenging themselves to earn it.
You’re asking hard questions. Holding a high standard. Paying attention to the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
Then you take all of that and let it talk you out of the very things you’re most qualified to do. That’s the lie. Imposter syndrome takes your strengths, your standards, your drive, and turns them into evidence that you’re not enough. It’s fear creating an illusion that sounds like truth.
Harvard Business Review has a name for high
Harvard Business Review has a name for high performers who do this to themselves: insecure overachievers, people who are “exceptionally capable and ambitious, yet driven by a deep sense of their own inadequacy.” They tend to be the hardest workers in the room and the last to believe they’ve earned their spot in it. Left unchecked, the doubt compounds instead of fading with experience.
The goal isn’t to silence it, and honestly, I’m not sure that’s even possible. The most you can do is stop letting it control you.
Early in my career, I was asked to take on more responsibility than I felt ready for. I hadn’t done it at that scale before, and I knew it. The voice had a lot of opinions about whether I could pull it off. I said yes anyway.
Years later, stepping into a CEO role,
Years later, stepping into a CEO role, it showed up again. Same fear, bigger title, higher stakes.
That feeling of not being enough is proof you take the work seriously, not proof that you’re failing.
There’s research behind that distinction. Imposter syndrome is seen by some as part of the broader Dunning-Kruger effect: People with limited skills tend to overestimate their abilities, while people who excel tend to underestimate theirs. The doubt runs highest in the people who are most capable. The ones who are least qualified rarely question themselves at all.
Build a track record against the voice
There will never be absolute certainty
There will never be absolute certainty. Stop waiting for it before you lead. You beat imposter syndrome by giving yourself a track record the voice can’t argue with.
Here’s how to build it.
- Start a track record. One note, one page, it doesn’t matter where. Every time you say yes to something before you feel ready and it works out, write it down. One line is enough: what you did, what happened. This is the evidence the voice conveniently forgets exists.
- Name the one decision you’re avoiding right now. Not a general “be more confident” goal. One specific yes or no you’ve been sitting on.
- Set a deadline the voice doesn’t get to control. Doubt does not run on a clock. Give this decision a deadline: end of this week, after this call, before you leave the office today.
- Read your track record before you decide, not after. That’s the point of keeping it. When the voice gets loud, you need to look at your own history.
Then ask yourself what you would do if you trusted your own track record as much as you trust the fear. Make that move. The voice will still be there. Lead anyway.
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