Ever since I started working in IT almost 18 years ago (crap, I’m getting old), my self-confidence has gone up and down. From being an enthusiastic, overconfident junior who came out of school thinking I could conquer the world, to being a solo developer on a project second-guessing almost every decision I made.
If any of that sounds familiar, this one is for you.
What imposter syndrome is and why it feels so real
Imposter syndrome is that persistent feeling that you are not as competent as others believe you to be. Psychologically, it comes from a mismatch between your internal perception of your abilities and the external evidence around you. Even when there is clear proof that you are doing well, such as delivered projects, positive feedback, or years of experience, your mind tends to discount it.
Instead, success gets rewritten in a way that makes it feel less earned. You might tell yourself you were lucky, that the task was easier than it looked, or that others are overestimating your contribution. At the same time, mistakes or gaps in knowledge feel much more significant than they objectively are. They become the “real evidence” your brain uses to judge your competence. Over time, this creates a distorted internal narrative where doubt feels more reliable than actual performance.
In IT, this effect is especially common. The field moves quickly, and no one can realistically know everything. There is always a new framework, tool, or approach that you have not fully mastered yet. Even with years of experience, constant exposure to new concepts can make you feel like you are always slightly behind, no matter how much you know.
The role of peers and company culture
You would think that after almost two decades of experience, my confidence level would be through the roof. But that is not always the case. Over the years, I have noticed a few factors that strongly influence this.
One of them is your peers. If you have nobody to debate with on a technical level, it tends to feed the doubts. When you are making technical decisions or running into problems, it is important to have someone to bounce ideas off. If you are limited to only doing online searches, reading blog posts, and finding ten different approaches to solve the same problem, it is easy to get into an endless loop of questioning every single decision you make. Having someone who can validate or challenge your thoughts can make you feel much more confident about them. My advice is simple: don’t be afraid to talk to your peers. Together, you always know more.
A second really important factor is company culture. If your company has a habit of giving feedback early and often, it helps guide you through uncertainty. If, on the other hand, feedback only happens once a year during a review process, it can have a negative effect.
When I started at Zure, I had to get accustomed to the feedback culture. If you are not used to this level of open and continuous feedback, it can be a real shock at first. But after a while, I realized this is simply how our way of working functions, and the Zure community thrives on it. This has really helped me overcome my imposter syndrome. It is not completely gone yet, but I feel like I have more control over it.
How can you detect people struggling with this?
It is one thing to understand and acknowledge that you are struggling with this yourself. But how can you find colleagues, peers, friends, or others who are dealing with the same thing? That is not always easy, but there are a few signals you can look out for.
Often, it shows up in subtle ways. People might consistently downplay their own contributions, even when they clearly added value. You might notice them hesitating before making decisions or looking for extra confirmation even on things they are already capable of handling. Sometimes they attribute success to the team or circumstances, while taking full ownership of anything that did not go perfectly.
What makes it harder to spot is that these are usually not performance issues. In many cases, these are very capable people who are simply more critical of themselves than others are. That is why it often goes unnoticed unless you are paying attention to the patterns behind what people say and how they talk about their own work.
How can you help them?
If you start noticing this, the good news is that you do not need to fix it in a complicated way. Small, intentional things in how you interact with people can already make a big difference.
One of the most effective things you can do is to be specific in your feedback. Instead of general praise, explain what you actually appreciate in someone’s work or decision. For example, why a certain approach made sense, or what impact it had. This helps someone anchor their own judgment in something concrete, rather than dismissing it as luck or coincidence.
Another important aspect is how you deal with feedback yourself. In many teams, feedback is something you give, but not something you openly show how you receive. “Eating your own dog food” in this context can be very powerful. When you actively show that you are open to feedback and treat it as something constructive rather than personal criticism, it sets an example for others. People learn a lot from what they see, not just what they are told. If they see you reacting positively to feedback, discussing it openly, and using it to improve instead of defending against it, it helps them reframe their own experience with feedback as something safe and useful. Over time, this can lower the barrier for them to accept feedback themselves, which is often a key part of reducing imposter feelings.
Finally, encourage conversation instead of silent doubt. A simple “what made you choose this approach?” can already open the door for discussion, reassurance, or shared learning. Often, people do not need reassurance that they are right. They just need confirmation that they are not alone in their thinking.
How has AI affected this?
Yes, here is the buzzword “AI”. To be honest, that has not really helped with this problem.
If anything, it has made the feeling of imposter syndrome more present for a lot of people in IT, myself included. The pace at which new tools, frameworks, and workflows appear has increased again, and it often feels like you are expected to adapt almost instantly. There is also a constant stream of examples showing what is possible, which can easily create the impression that everyone else is already far ahead.
At the same time, AI lowers the barrier to producing results in many areas. That sounds positive, and in many ways, it is, but it also adds a new layer of comparison. It becomes harder to distinguish between deep understanding and fast output, and that can make your own knowledge feel less solid than it actually is.
For me, it sometimes reinforces that same old feeling: that there is always something new I should already understand, even though the ground is moving faster than ever.
Let’s normalize imposter syndrome
The main reason I wanted to write about this is simple. Imposter syndrome is real, and I think it helps to acknowledge and normalize it.
If you are someone who struggles with it, I hope this makes it a bit easier to recognize that you are not alone in this. It does not necessarily go away completely but understanding what it is and where it comes from can already make it more manageable.
And if you are someone who does not struggle with it as much, I think it is still important to be aware of it. You will likely work with people who do experience it, even if they do not say it out loud. Small things like giving specific feedback, encouraging discussion, and showing how you handle feedback yourself can make a real difference in how safe and confident someone feels in their work.
In the end, it is not about removing doubt entirely. It is about creating an environment where doubt does not quietly grow into something that holds people back.
