The Fraud Nobody Talks About
Psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes first named it in 1978 — the persistent, often paralysing belief that your achievements are not really yours, that you’ve somehow fooled everyone around you, and that it’s only a matter of time before the curtain is pulled back. They called it imposter syndrome.
Nearly fifty years later, it hasn’t gone away. If anything, it’s gotten louder. A 2020 study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that approximately 70% of people experience imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. High achievers, it turns out, are especially vulnerable — the more visible your success, the wider the gap feels between what others see and what you feel inside.
It shows up in boardrooms and creative studios, in startup founders pitching to investors they’re convinced know more than they do, in first-generation professionals navigating spaces their families never occupied. It crosses gender, culture, and seniority. And yet, most people who experience it say the same thing: they had no idea others felt it too.
“The more visible your success, the wider the gap can feel between what others see and what you feel inside.”
Where Emotional Intelligence Enters the Room
Emotional intelligence — the ability to recognise, understand, and manage your emotions, and to do the same for others — has long been associated with leadership, empathy, and interpersonal effectiveness. But it turns out it’s also one of the most powerful tools we have against the inner critic that drives imposter syndrome.
Psychologist and EI researcher Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, puts it plainly: “Emotions are information.” The anxiety, self-doubt, and shame that imposter syndrome produces are not evidence that you don’t belong. They’re data points — feelings that, when properly named and understood, lose much of their power to distort your thinking.
The link between EI and imposter syndrome isn’t coincidental. Research consistently shows that people with higher emotional intelligence are better equipped to challenge cognitive distortions — the unhelpful thinking patterns that convince us our success was luck, that one mistake erases all previous wins, or that everyone else has the confidence we simply lack. EI doesn’t eliminate self-doubt. But it gives you the tools to not be ruled by it.
Five EI Practices That Actually Help
The good news about emotional intelligence is that it’s not a fixed trait you either have or don’t. It’s a skill — one that can be practised, built, and strengthened over time. Here are five evidence-backed, expert-informed approaches that people dealing with imposter syndrome have found genuinely useful.
| 01
NAME IT |
The first step in working with any difficult emotion is simply identifying it. Dr. Brackett calls this ‘RULER’ — recognising, understanding, labelling, expressing, and regulating emotion. When imposter syndrome strikes, most people push the feeling down or mask it with overwork. A more effective response: pause, name what you’re feeling, and get specific. ‘I’m feeling fraudulent’ is less useful than ‘I’m feeling anxious about being evaluated by people I respect.’ The more precisely you can label an emotion, the less power it has over your behaviour. |
| 02
AUDIT YOUR INNER NARRATIVE |
Imposter syndrome is fundamentally a storytelling problem. Your brain is telling you a story — and it’s not a flattering one. The EI practice here borrows from cognitive reappraisal: when the inner voice says ‘I don’t deserve to be here,’ treat it as a hypothesis rather than a fact. Ask yourself: what’s the actual evidence? What would you say to a colleague expressing this same doubt about themselves? Self-compassion researcher Dr. Kristin Neff of the University of Texas argues that treating yourself with the same kindness you’d offer a friend is not weakness — it’s one of the most emotionally intelligent things you can do. |
| 03
SEPARATE FEELINGS FROM FACTS |
One of the most disorienting features of imposter syndrome is how convincingly it conflates emotion with reality. You feel like a fraud, therefore you must be one. Emotional intelligence helps you build what psychologists call ‘affect labelling’ — the ability to observe a feeling without being consumed by it. A useful technique: write the thought down, then examine it as you would a claim someone else was making. Is it true? Is it always true? What else is true at the same time? This cognitive distance is where EI earns its keep. |
| 04
BUILD A REALITY ANCHOR |
Psychotherapist and leadership coach Dr. Valerie Young, author of The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, recommends what she calls a ‘competence file’ — a running record of your actual achievements, positive feedback, problems you’ve solved, and moments where you demonstrably knew what you were doing. This isn’t vanity. It’s a factual counter-archive to the selectively negative one your imposter brain maintains. When the doubt hits, you have evidence to consult. Over time, the habit of noticing your own competence starts to feel more natural. |
| 05
TALK ABOUT IT |
Perhaps the most underrated EI practice for imposter syndrome is simple disclosure. The experience thrives in silence and isolation. Research by Dr. Clance herself found that when people share their imposter feelings with others — particularly in trusted professional relationships — the relief is immediate and often mutual. Mentors, peers, and even managers who have the psychological safety to say ‘I’ve felt that too’ are among the most powerful antidotes available. Vulnerability, deployed wisely, is an EI strength — not a liability. |
“Imposter syndrome is fundamentally a storytelling problem. Your brain is narrating your experience — and EI gives you the pen back.”
A Note for Leaders
If you manage a team, imposter syndrome is probably affecting people around you right now — even your highest performers. Research from KPMG found that 75% of executive women reported experiencing imposter syndrome at various points in their careers. And it’s not only women: studies show it’s prevalent across demographics, with particular prevalence among first-generation professionals and those from underrepresented backgrounds entering established industries.
Leaders with high emotional intelligence create the conditions that make imposter syndrome less likely to fester. That means giving specific, honest feedback rather than vague praise. It means sharing your own moments of doubt when appropriate — not to appear relatable, but because it normalises the experience and reduces shame. And it means designing team cultures where admitting uncertainty is met with support rather than judgement. The opposite of imposter syndrome isn’t arrogance. It’s psychological safety.
The Permission You’re Waiting For
Here’s what the research ultimately suggests: imposter syndrome is not a sign that you don’t belong. In many cases, it’s a sign that you care deeply, that you hold high standards, and that you’re aware enough to know what you don’t yet know. Those are not the qualities of a fraud. They’re the qualities of someone who is genuinely engaged with their work.
Emotional intelligence doesn’t promise to silence the inner critic forever. What it offers is something more useful: the tools to hear it, challenge it, and choose not to let it make your decisions. The voice that says you don’t belong has been wrong before. The work is learning to notice when it’s wrong again.
You’ve earned your seat at the table. Emotional intelligence is how you learn to sit comfortably in it.
EXPERT VOICES
| Dr. Marc Brackett
Founding Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence “Emotions are data, not noise. When we learn to read them accurately, we gain access to information that can change how we think, decide, and connect.” |
Dr. Valerie Young
Author, The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women; Imposter Syndrome Expert “The goal isn’t to feel confident all the time. It’s to act with confidence while feeling afraid — and to know the difference between self-doubt and truth.” |
| Dr. Kristin Neff
Associate Professor, University of Texas; Pioneer of Self-Compassion Research “Self-compassion is not self-pity. It is treating yourself with the same warmth and understanding you’d offer a good friend who was struggling — and that changes everything.” |
Dr. Pauline Clance
Clinical Psychologist; Originator of the Imposter Phenomenon concept, 1978 “When high-achievers share their imposter feelings with others, the relief is remarkable — and almost always mutual. Secrecy is what keeps the experience alive.” |
