Editor’s Note (Updated 2026):
This article was originally published in 2019. As conversations around imposter syndrome and workplace wellbeing have evolved, the ideas below remain relevant for many high-performing professionals navigating leadership expectations. In today’s work environment, high visibility roles, hybrid teams, and social media comparison can intensify imposter syndrome. Developing sustainable confidence is more critical than ever.

Many high-performing professionals quietly struggle with imposter syndrome at work, the persistent feeling that they are not as capable as others believe and may eventually be “found out.” Despite impressive achievements, promotions, and expertise, these leaders often hold themselves to extremely high standards and feel constant pressure to prove they belong.

If you are reading this, there is a good chance you have at least once searched phrases like “imposter syndrome” or “insecure overachiever.” In my work with senior leaders, I often encounter what I call “insecure overachievers”, people whose drive for excellence is fueled as much by fear of failure as by ambition. While this drive can lead to remarkable achievements, it can also create chronic stress, self-doubt, and difficulty fully enjoying success.

Understanding the psychology behind imposter syndrome is the first step toward developing a healthier and more sustainable relationship with achievement.

Why High Achievers Experience Imposter Syndrome

Most of us are driven by something.

Fear of failure comes up a lot amongst highly successful executives and how could it not? The stakes are high and what got you to where you are is an individual mix of skills and behaviors purely contextual to your lived experiences in your organization. The culture that each firm and team embodies varies and evolves moment to moment and person to person but is very relevant to norming overwork as a good thing. But imagine what your life would be like if failure large or small was seen as a learning experience and not a devastating event?

Driven people are driven by something and it is not usually ambition for ambition’s sake, if you think for a second about that. Motivations behind all behaviors can be somewhat simplified by categorizing them into three summarized buckets that Socrates and then Plato spoke of much less concisely in The Republic:

1) Gain, or what’s in it for me?

2) Honor, such as high altruism traits or desire to leave a legacy work

3) Fear, or what will happen if I fail or do not do this

When Healthy Drive Turns into Chronic Self-Doubt

Many successful people in the world are insecure overachievers because always wanting better has given us great products and services and achievements as humans. No matter how you cut it, subjective judgment, and in this case your subjective judgment against yourself to believe there is a better product or version that you can produce next time, fuels innovation.

However, where hardworking, smart people fall under the insecure overachiever definition is when fear is extreme, almost all-consuming, and underlined by a feeling of permanent inadequacy despite having a range of actual significant achievements. “Work harder” is what people who suffer from this implicitly tell themselves. And in a world of more is more for work in many industries the norm is to put in long hours and show commitment, so discovering this issue may be harder than for people who work in very balanced, life- and family-centric societies.

Imposter syndrome fits here too when fear includes a feeling of secret shame of not being good enough and shows up as fear of being found out as a fraud. Usually, this comes with a feeling of needed external validation as the person cannot validate themselves. The person can feel anxious and unhappy no matter how many advanced degrees completed with honors and jobs they have excelled at. No matter how much money they earn or amazing projects they have completed, they can only see the future challenge in future time and cannot enjoy their past achievements or present successes.

How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome

If any of this sounds familiar, it is entirely important to get to the root cause of why you feel how you feel. It is usually sitting in your subconscious as a construct or several constructs that have formed into a belief.

Here are steps you can take:

1) Decide You Want Change

Decide whether you want to change from a stressed-out, unhappy “insecure overachiever” or someone who doesn’t belong or deserve their success.

2) Set Clear Goals

Decide how you want to feel about your work and life, such as:

• be more content with my work achievements
• look at balance of my entire life, not just work
• get healthy mentally and physically this year

3) Increase Self-Awareness

Make explicit what you tell yourself when you indulge in some self-deprecation (and not the modest, historically British kind).

4) Examine Hidden Beliefs

Read Immunity to Change which provides a great model for practical use around seeing what hidden competing agendas you might be carrying around that are thwarting your goal of being more sustainable and satisfied.

5) Seek External Perspective

Coaching or mentorship can help identify underlying beliefs driving chronic self-doubt and develop strategies for more sustainable confidence.

Executive Coaching for Imposter Syndrome

Many leaders find that imposter syndrome becomes more present as they move into senior roles with greater visibility and responsibility.

Executive coaching can help professionals identify the underlying beliefs that drive chronic self-doubt and develop more sustainable leadership habits.

To learn more and take the next step towards becoming a more confident and self-aware leader, schedule a short exploratory conversation with Nicki Gilmour, founder and CEO of theglasshammer and Evolved People Coaching HERE.