Latest / New Manager Conversations with Fexingo: First 90 Days, Managing Former Peers, and Leadership Basics / How New Managers Can Address Impostor Syndrome With Their Teams
Transcript
- Lucas: Priya has been a senior analyst on the team for about eighteen months. Her numbers are consistently in the top quartile. She runs meetings well, her slide decks are clean, and she's the person everyone goes to when they need a tough data question answered. Luna: Sounds like a star performer. Lucas: And yet, whenever her manager gives her positive feedback, she deflects. She says things like, 'Oh, I just got lucky with the data this quarter,' or 'The team really carried me on that one.' She doesn't apply for the stretch assignment her manager suggests because she thinks she's not ready. Luna: Classic impostor syndrome pattern. But here's the question for new managers — is it your job to address that? Or is that something she needs to work out on her own? Lucas: That's exactly the tension I want to look at today. Because impostor syndrome is incredibly common — studies have shown that up to 70 percent of people experience it at some point in their careers. And it doesn't discriminate by level. But for a first-time manager, it's tricky. You're not a therapist. You don't want to overstep. Luna: Right. You also don't want to label someone. Telling a team member, 'I think you have impostor syndrome' can feel pathologizing. Lucas: Exactly. So the approach I want to recommend comes from the work of Dr. Pauline Clance — she's the psychologist who first identified impostor phenomenon back in the 1970s. She developed something called the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale, which is a diagnostic tool, but more useful for managers is the framework she built around it. Luna: What's the framework? Lucas: She identified three core behaviors that sustain impostor feelings. First, the person works extremely hard to prevent being 'found out.' Second, they have a persistent fear of evaluation — they dread feedback even when it's positive. And third, they downplay their success, attributing it to external factors like luck or timing. Luna: Okay, so Priya checks all three boxes. What does the manager do with that information? Lucas: You don't diagnose. You normalize. The most powerful thing a manager can say is something like: 'I've noticed you tend to attribute your success to luck, and I see something different. I want to share what I observe so you have a fuller picture.' And then you cite specific examples. Luna: You're giving them data to counter their internal narrative. Lucas: Exactly. And one concrete tool I've seen work well is what I call the Accomplishment Log. It's simple: at the end of each week, the team member writes down three things they did well and why. Not what went wrong. Not what they could improve. Just what went right and what they contributed. Luna: Do you have them share it with you? Lucas: No — and this is important. The log is private. It's for them. The goal is to retrain their internal attribution pattern. Over time, they start to see their own agency. After about four to six weeks, you might ask them if they'd be willing to share one entry in a one-on-one. But only if they're comfortable. Luna: And if they're not comfortable? Lucas: You don't push. You keep the log going and check back in a month. The key is consistency, not coercion. Luna: I like that it's low pressure. But I want to come back to the manager's role. Because I've seen managers who try to be too supportive — they over-praise, they over-explain, and it actually makes the impostor feelings worse because the person feels like they're being managed rather than trusted. Lucas: That's a really good point. Over-praising can backfire. If every small win gets a standing ovation, the team member might think, 'Wow, they didn't expect me to succeed.' So the feedback needs to be calibrated. Specific, factual, and tied to the work, not the person's identity. Luna: So instead of 'You're so smart,' you say what? Lucas: 'The way you structured the sensitivity analysis in that deck made it much easier for the client to follow. That took careful thinking.' Tied to action, not trait. Luna: That makes sense. And it gives them something to hold onto. Lucas: Right. Now, one other thing that new managers often miss is that impostor syndrome isn't just about the individual — it can pervade a whole team. If you have a culture where people don't talk about their doubts, it festers. Luna: So you're saying the manager can model vulnerability. Lucas: Yeah. And this is something I've seen work really well. In a team meeting, the manager might share a story about a time they felt out of their depth. Not oversharing — just a brief, honest moment. It signals that doubt is normal and doesn't hold you back. Luna: Honestly, if we've helped you think through a career move or decision, I'd just say — if today was worth a coffee to you, that's the link. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. We keep the show ad-free, and that kind of listener support is what makes it possible. Lucas: Yeah, we really appreciate that. And it helps us keep doing episodes like this one. Luna: So back to modeling vulnerability — any other tips for team-level culture? Lucas: Yeah. One practice I've seen in engineering teams is to start retrospectives with a round of 'one thing I was unsure about this sprint.' It normalizes uncertainty as part of the process, not a weakness. Luna: And for the new manager themselves — because let's be honest, most new managers are also dealing with their own impostor syndrome. Lucas: Absolutely. And the same advice applies. Keep your own Accomplishment Log. Share your own doubts in appropriate settings. And remember that feeling like an impostor doesn't mean you are one — it means you're growing. Luna: So the takeaway: don't diagnose, normalize. Use specific feedback and private reflection tools. And address it at both the individual and team level. Lucas: Exactly. I think the best new managers create an environment where it's safe to say, 'I'm not sure I deserve this,' and the response is, 'Let me show you what I see.'