Navigating Imposter Syndrome in Tech Leadership Roles

Imposter syndrome at work can affect anyone, regardless of how senior they are or their impressive professional background. Even in the fintech world, where innovation and confidence are prized, self-doubt can manifest and affect high-performing leaders.

Imposter syndrome can emerge when leaders are confronted with the dual pressures of high expectations and rapid industry evolution, particularly in fintech, where technology moves at lightning speed. Imposter syndrome is more common than we often acknowledge, and knowing you’re not alone can be helpful in taking the first step.

Spotting the Signs of Imposter Syndrome

There are some tell-tale symptoms fintech leaders should be mindful of, particularly as they step into new roles or face significant challenges:

• Persistent Self-Doubt: Despite proven achievements, you may question whether you’re qualified enough to lead your team. This is especially prevalent in a field like fintech, where the technology and regulatory landscapes are constantly shifting.
• Attributing Success to External Factors: Many leaders downplay their role in success, attributing achievements to “luck,” “good timing,” or team efforts, sidelining their own contributions.
• Fear of Failure: The high stakes in innovation can cause hesitation in leaders, stalling key decisions out of fear of public mistakes.
• Difficulty Accepting Praise: Praise can feel uncomfortable, as though you haven’t earned it or it is not deserved, even if the results show otherwise.
• Feeling Like a Fraud: Despite scaling teams or raising funding rounds, a lingering fear persists that one day, “the truth” about your perceived inadequacies will come out.

What Drives Imposter Syndrome

The fast-paced, competitive environment in tech can often amplify feelings of inadequacy. When this is accompanied by a top-down management style, this can unintentionally exacerbate imposter syndrome. Leaders operating in progressive firms find value in adopting a coaching style.

Equally,a drive for perfection, common among tech leaders, can fuel imposter syndrome. In fintech, teams may be handling critical financial solutions or compliance-heavy challenges, which can make leaders feel overwhelmed by the need for flawless execution.

For many, a lack of a strong support systems can also drive that overwhelming feeling. While this is certainly improving, many tech organisations have limited opportunities to openly discuss vulnerabilities. Peer groups become a value asset for everyone, but especially for those feeling a sense of loneliness in their leadership role.

Recognising Growth vs. Imposter Syndrome

It’s important to distinguish between natural discomfort from stepping into a new, challenging role and true imposter syndrome. Feeling unsettled during periods of growth can be a positive sign. It means you’re stretching yourself outside of your comfort zone. 

However, if self-doubt persists long-term or intensifies despite external success, it may signal deeper imposter syndrome that needs addressing.

I’ve worked with lots of highly capable leaders willing to challenge themselves to move beyond their existing comfort zone. Feeling off balance and/or a sense of discomfort is normal and to be expected when you’re growing. But if you’re still doubting yourself long after the wins stack up, that’s not humility, that’s imposter syndrome in disguise.

Strategies for Managing Imposter Syndrome

So how do you deal with the challenges of imposter syndrome? It doesn’t have to impede your leadership. Here are a few practical steps to combat it:

• Shift Your Mindset: Transitioning to a leadership role requires a company-wide perspective rather than just focusing on your niche. Spend time understanding how other departments, including engineering or compliance, align with the overall vision. Spend the first few meetings observing rather than contributing. Listen to understand team dynamics and alignments.
• Lean Into Coaching: Don’t rely solely on your current expertise. Coaching can help uncover blind spots in leadership and offer clarity, and provide a sounding board. In-person executive coaching is a powerful tool for deep personal growth. Complementing this with innovative solutions like AI leadership coaching apps, make coaching more accessible, offering real-time support across a wide range of scenarios and providing around-the-clock guidance when you need it most.
  • Delegate and Empower: Avoid the trap of micromanaging as an enterprise scales. Effective delegation helps leaders maintain focus on high-value priorities while teams feel trusted with ownership of responsibilities.
• Build a Network: Connect with external leaders, both within and outside the world of FinTech. Whether it’s meeting other founders or attending conferences, these connections inspire new ideas and reinforce how widespread certain challenges are in the sector.
• Set Realistic Expectations: Startups and scale-ups thrive on innovation over perfection. Mistakes will happen, but they often lead to invaluable lessons. Start small, iterate, and improve.
• Reframe Success: There may be a mindset shift required, from considering the volume of tasks completed on a given day, to how, as a leader, you are contributing towards long term strategies.

Avoiding the Comfort Zone Trap

One of the biggest risks for leaders in any sector battling imposter syndrome is retreating to the comfort zone of their previous roles. Whether it’s over-involvement in day-to-day technical work or doubling down on tasks better suited to others, this behaviour can:

• Frustrate teams by signalling a lack of trust.
• Undermine broader strategic goals.
• Increase feelings of inadequacy, as managing every detail cannot solve complex challenges.

This can be a difficult shift. It’s common to like hanging on to the things we’re great at, it’s comforting, and can be a security blanket. But growth demands a shift. The real leadership move is letting go of what you can do well and stepping into what your company actually needs from you now.

Leaders’ Takeaway

Imposter syndrome may not discriminate, but it’s navigable. By acknowledging it, seeking support, and adjusting your focus from perfection to progress, leaders can drive innovation and growth without being derailed by self-doubt.

Imposter syndrome comes with the territory, particularly in tech. But when you reframe it as part of a learning experience rather than a limitation, you’ll find that it’s not an obstacle but a stepping stone.

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Kirsty Bathgate, accredited executive coach, founder of gearingforgrowth.com and co-founder of www.bravyn.ai

Photo by Tim Gouw: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-white-shirt-using-macbook-pro-52608/