Feeling like an Imposter ?

Imposter syndrome isn’t a sign you don’t belong.

It’s a signal you’ve stepped into stretch.

From a coaching lens, imposter syndrome often spikes exactly when growth becomes visible. A promotion. A new qualification. A shiny credential walking into the room. Not because you’re incapable, but because your identity is catching up with your reality.

When you’ve just been promoted, the rules change. You’re no longer being rewarded for doing, but for thinking, influencing and deciding. The inner critic gets loud because you’re learning in public. From a coaching perspective, this is a transition from competence to confidence, and that gap can feel deeply uncomfortable.

Similarly, when someone joins the team with a university degree or professional qualification, it can trigger comparison. Credentials are visible. Experience, judgment and contextual intelligence are not. The brain fills in the gaps with a story, they’re more qualified than me. Coaching work is about separating facts from narratives.

A few coaching reframes that help

New level, new discomfort, growth is meant to feel unfamiliar. Comfort is not the goal, capability is.

Qualifications don’t equal impact, they open doors, they don’t do the work. You already earned your seat through results.

Comparison is a data point, not a verdict, ask what’s being activated in you. What skill, confidence or boundary is asking to be strengthened.

Belonging follows behaviour, act like you belong long enough, and your nervous system will catch up.

From a coaching standpoint, imposter syndrome is not something to eliminate, it’s something to work with. It often appears right before expansion, leadership and deeper influence.

If you’re feeling it, you’re probably exactly where you’re meant to be.

Coaching question to leave you with:

What would change if you stopped asking, am I good enough, and started asking, what does this role need from me right now.