Have you ever sat in a meeting, looked around the room, and felt like a total fraud? You’ve got the job, you’ve done the work, and your results are solid – yet there is that nagging voice in the back of your head telling you that it’s only a matter of time before everyone realises you have no idea what you’re doing.
If that sounds familiar, you aren’t broken. You’re experiencing imposter syndrome, and it hits like a tonne of bricks when you’re building a career you actually care about. It’s that uncomfortable gap between how the world sees you and how you see yourself. You might have been told you’re "too sensitive" or "overthinking things" your whole life, but the truth is that the way your brain is wired plays a massive role in how you process success and failure.
At Hey Compono, we know that overcoming imposter syndrome isn't about fixing a character flaw. It’s about understanding your unique work personality so you can stop diminishing your light. When you understand the "why" behind your reactions, you can start managing those feelings instead of letting them run the show.
Imposter syndrome is exhausting because it requires you to maintain a mask. You feel like you’re constantly performing, trying to live up to a version of yourself that you don’t believe exists. This leads to a cycle of overworking to compensate for your perceived inadequacy, which eventually leads to burnout. It’s a heavy burden to carry, especially when you feel like you can’t talk to anyone about it because they might agree with you.
For many of us, these feelings started young. Maybe you were the kid who was told you were "too direct" or "too quiet," and you learned to second-guess your natural instincts. Now, as a professional, those old wounds resurface as a fear of being found out. You dismiss your achievements as luck or good timing, and you hyper-focus on your mistakes as proof of your incompetence. It’s time to recognise that these thoughts are just patterns, not facts.
Overcoming imposter syndrome starts with radical honesty. You need to acknowledge the struggle without shame. You aren't the only one feeling this way – in fact, research shows that high achievers are the most likely to suffer from it. The goal isn't to reach a state of perfection where you never feel doubt; it's to build a relationship with yourself where doubt doesn't define your value.
We all experience doubt differently based on our natural traits. At Compono, we’ve spent over a decade researching how personality influences behaviour at work. We’ve identified eight distinct work personalities, and each one has a specific "flavour" of imposter syndrome. Understanding which one you are can be the key to overcoming imposter syndrome because it allows you to spot your specific triggers.
If you are an Auditor, for example, your imposter syndrome might manifest as a crippling fear of making a minor detail error. Because you value precision, any small slip-up feels like evidence that you shouldn't be in your role. On the other hand, a Pioneer might feel like a fraud because they are always moving on to the next big idea before the last one is fully bedded down. They hear voices saying, "You can't focus," and they start to believe they are just faking their way through projects.
Hey Compono uses a personality-adaptive approach to help you navigate these specific hurdles. By identifying your type – whether you're a Doer, a Helper, or an Evaluator – the AI coach can tailor its guidance to your specific mental models.
You can discover your work personality to see exactly how your traits influence your confidence levels.
Overcoming imposter syndrome isn't a one-time event; it’s a daily practice of reframing your internal dialogue. One of the most effective ways to do this is to keep a "fact file" of your achievements. When the feeling of being a fraud creeps in, look at the hard evidence. Did you meet that deadline? Did you solve that problem? Did your manager give you positive feedback? These are objective truths that your imposter brain tries to ignore.
Another strategy is to change how you view failure. For someone with imposter syndrome, a mistake is an indictment of their entire being. Instead, try to see a mistake as a data point. It’s an opportunity to learn and adjust, not a sign that you don’t belong in the room. This is especially important for the Evaluator type, who can be incredibly critical of themselves. Learning to be as objective with your own performance as you are with others' is a vital step.
Talking about your feelings is also essential, but it has to be in a safe space. This is where AI coaching can be a game-changer. Unlike a human manager or colleague, an AI coach has zero judgement. You can be completely vulnerable about your fears without worrying about how it will affect your next performance review. Hey Compono provides that 24/7 support, helping you talk through your doubts the moment they arise.
Real confidence doesn't come from knowing you’ll never fail; it comes from knowing you can handle it when you do. This kind of resilience is built on a foundation of self-awareness. When you know your strengths and your blind spots, imposter syndrome loses its power. You can say, "I might not know everything about this specific task yet, but I know my Coordinator skills will help me organise the right people to get it done."
Self-awareness also means recognising when you are diminishing your light to make others feel more comfortable. Many Helpers do this instinctively to maintain harmony, but it only feeds the feeling of being an imposter because you aren't showing up as your full self. You have to give yourself permission to be competent and capable. You don't have to apologise for being good at what you do.
The Hey Compono app helps you build this self-awareness through ongoing conversations that adapt to your progress. It remembers your previous struggles and helps you track how far you’ve come. It’s like having a mentor who truly gets you and holds up a mirror to your real potential, not the distorted version your imposter syndrome creates. Check out how personality-adaptive coaching works to see it in action.