For most of my career at USAID, I lived by one quiet motto: fake it till you make it. And for a long time, it worked. Not because I was pretending to be qualified, but because I trusted myself to learn fast, adapt quickly, and build the right relationships to fill in any gaps. I cycled through a mirage of roles—budget analyst, project manager, program officer, and eventually a dealmaker pulling together complex public-private partnerships. Every one of those functions, I figured out on the job.

During interviews, I knew how to say the right things. I knew how to frame my experiences. And yes, sometimes I stretched the truth—not to deceive, but to convince both myself and the hiring panel that I belonged in the room. Deep down, I always believed my real superpower wasn’t mastery—it was adaptability, one of the strongest predictors of leadership success (Pulakos et al., 2020).

I brought real value:

• a deep understanding of USAID budget systems,
• procurement processes,
• technical workflows across bureaus,
• and—maybe most important—a trust network that cut across the institution.

If I didn’t know the answer, someone in my network did. That’s not imposter syndrome—that’s organizational intelligence.

But stepping outside government? That’s where imposter syndrome has found new ground.

Now that I’m navigating the nonprofit and private-sector job market, I feel a different kind of insecurity creeping in. It’s not about capability—deep down, I know I can do the roles I’m applying for. My career is built on stepping into unfamiliar territory and figuring things out.

The discomfort comes from losing the internal map. I don’t yet know the culture, the relationships, or the unwritten rules—the very elements that make high achievers feel grounded. According to research from the American Psychological Association, imposter syndrome is especially common during periods of professional transition, particularly when individuals enter new environments where they feel they have something to prove (Weir, 2013).

Studies show that:

• 70% of people experience imposter feelings at some point in their careers (Sakulku & Alexander, 2011).
• Women, especially women of color, experience it at higher rates in new professional settings (Clance & Imes, 1978).
• Imposter syndrome is not linked to actual ability—high performers and “rapid learners” experience it the most (Bravata et al., 2020).

So in many ways, my fear is not a reflection of incompetence—it’s a reflection of change.

Imposter syndrome doesn’t show up because I lack skill. It shows up because I’m entering spaces where I haven’t yet built relationships. Where I don’t know the internal shortcuts. Where I haven’t established the trust that normally fuels my ability to get things done.

This transition is humbling: knowing I’m qualified, yet feeling disconnected from the internal systems that once amplified my confidence. So much of professional success isn’t just about technical expertise—it’s about familiarity, institutional rhythm, and networks. When those are stripped away, even the most capable people can feel unmoored.

But here’s what I remind myself:
I’ve done hard things before.
I’ve learned new systems before.
I’ve rebuilt networks before.
And I’ve stepped into roles that initially intimidated me—and made them my own.

Maybe the real motto now isn’t fake it till you make it—but trust what you’ve already proven you can do.

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References

Bravata, D. M., Watts, S. A., Keefer, A. L., Madhusudhan, D. K., Taylor, K. T., Clark, D. M., Nelson, R. S., Cokley, K. O., & Hagg, H. K. (2020). Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: A systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(4), 1252–1275.

Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241–247.

Pulakos, E. D., Arad, S., Donovan, M. A., & Plamondon, K. E. (2020). Adaptability in the workplace: Development of a taxonomy of adaptive performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(4), 612–624.

Sakulku, J., & Alexander, J. (2011). The impostor phenomenon. The International Journal of Behavioral Science, 6(1), 73–92.

Weir, K. (2013). Feel like a fraud? American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/11/fraud