We live in a world obsessed with performance, success, and achievement. Yet behind the polished LinkedIn profiles and impressive career trajectories lies a secret that most high achievers would never admit: they feel like frauds.
This isn’t about having a bad day. It’s more serious and surprisingly common among successful people. In fact, more than 70% of high achievers feel what’s called imposter syndrome. This is the feeling that, despite their achievements, they don’t truly belong where they are.
I had the privilege to meet the expert Tara Halliday, who explained in this ProductiviTree episode why we distrust ourselves and how to stop doing it.
Including myself, I have met many (senior leaders) who were constantly(in secrecy) doubting themselves. This is what I learned after talking with Tara.
The Performance Trap
Imposter Syndrome is NOT a beginner’s thing. We tell ourselves that once we get the next promotion, the following qualification, the next success, we’ll finally feel secure. But the opposite happens. The higher we climb, the higher the stakes, the more exposed we feel. The more we achieve, the more we wonder when someone will discover we’re not as capable as they think.
This creates a cruel irony. The very most successful people often feel the least worthy of their success. They work harder, prepare longer, and stress more than necessary, not because they lack skills, but because they’re fighting an invisible battle with their own self-doubt.
The Real Cost of Feeling Like a Fraud
What we don’t often discuss is how exhausting this internal struggle becomes. When you’re constantly questioning your worth, every meeting becomes a performance, every project a test you might fail, every success a lucky break that might not happen again.
This mental overhead doesn’t just affect our emotional well-being; it directly impacts our productivity. When your nervous system is constantly triggered by self-doubt, your brain literally can’t function at its peak. Blood flow gets redirected away from the areas responsible for strategic thinking and decision-making. Your IQ effectively drops. You become more reactive, less clear, and ironically, less capable of the very performance you’re desperately trying to maintain.
The Myth of “Fake It Till You Make It”
One of the most damaging pieces of advice we give to people struggling with self-doubt is to “fake it till you make it.” For someone experiencing imposter syndrome, this is like telling someone who’s drowning to swim harder. You already feel like you don’t belong; pretending only amplifies that feeling.
The Unconscious Belief That Shapes Everything
At the heart of imposter syndrome lies a belief so fundamental, so deeply ingrained, that most of us aren’t even aware we hold it: that our worth depends on what we do. When we succeed, we’re valuable. When we fail, we’re not. This conditional worth creates a never-ending cycle of needing to prove ourselves.
This belief is nearly universal, across cultures, across professions, across all levels of achievement. It’s not a personality flaw or a character weakness. I repeat, Imposter Syndrome is not a condition or a personality issue; it’s simply a learned belief that was never adequately separated from our sense of self when we were young.
The Power of Being Calm
Have you ever trusted someone who was shouting and panicking? I didn’t. The most transformational leaders aren’t necessarily the ones with the best ideas or the most charisma. They’re the ones who can stay calm under pressure, who can regulate their nervous system when everyone else is spinning. This calmness isn’t just admirable to have, it’s essential for peak performance.
The Hidden Network Effect
One of the most subtle ways imposter syndrome undermines us is by making us less likely to seek help or advice. When you feel like you don’t belong, asking for guidance feels like admitting weakness or incompetence. So we struggle in isolation, reinventing wheels and missing opportunities to learn from others.
High performers often have access to incredible networks, but imposter syndrome prevents them from fully utilizing these resources. They under-leverage relationships, turn down opportunities, and work harder rather than smarter, all because asking for help feels too risky.
Beyond Managing to Eliminating
Most approaches to imposter syndrome focus on management, learning to cope with the feelings, and developing strategies to push through the doubt.
A Different Way Forward
Imagine approaching challenges not with the weight of proving your worth, but with genuine curiosity and excitement. Imagine receiving feedback without taking it as a personal attack. Imagine making mistakes without it meaning anything about your value as a person. Better said than done, but that is the healthier and productive path.
The Ripple Effect
When leaders free themselves from imposter syndrome, it doesn’t just benefit them – it transforms their entire sphere of influence. They create psychological safety for their teams, they make better decisions because they’re not operating from fear, and they build environments where others can thrive without constantly proving themselves.
Getting Unstuck
If any of this resonates with you, the first step is simply recognition. Understanding that what you’re experiencing has a name, that it’s incredibly common, and most importantly, that it’s not a permanent feature of who you are.
My Takeaway:
In a world that increasingly demands peak performance and continuous (crazy paced) change, the most radical thing we can do is recognize that our worth isn’t dependent on our performance at all. That recognition is only one of the factors in unlocking our most tremendous potential.
Here are Tara’s links in case you want to get in touch and ask for professional and tested psychology:
- Inner Success one-to-one programme: https://bit.ly/2025IS-Client Amazon
- #1 best-selling books by Tara ‘Outsmart Imposter Syndrome’ (2023) https://amzn.to/44OKZ8D
- Website: https://www.outsmartimpostersyndrome.com
- Free quiz: https://bit.ly/ImpostorQuiz
- Online course: https://bit.ly/OutsmartIS
