Develop your professional identity to help silence the imposter gremlin

The thing that no one talks about when it comes to the imposter gremlin is that it’s exhausting. Not just occasionally tiring or mildly draining, but bone-deep, creativity-sapping, decision-impairing exhausting.

Constantly trying to appear confident when you’re silently questioning every decision. The mental energy spent rehearsing what you will say in meetings or conversations so no one discovers you are ‘faking it’. The drain on emotional energy comparing yourself to colleagues and worrying you aren’t good enough. The cognitive load of constantly second-guessing your contributions and accomplishments.

When Marketing Week research reveals that over 80% of marketers experience imposter syndrome, we’re talking about an epidemic of exhaustion within our profession. This isn’t just about feeling uncomfortable or uncertain. It’s about a profound drain on our mental resources that affects our creativity, our decision-making, our wellbeing and ultimately our effectiveness as marketers.

Academic research tells us there is a difference between a lack of confidence and imposter syndrome.

The exhaustion of feeling the imposter gremlin on our shoulders is magnified by our attempts to fit our evolving selves into outdated expectations and frameworks.

Lack of confidence is characterised by expressions of uncertainty or skills gaps. It’s easy to think of responses to challenging situations where you might not feel confident, such as “I haven’t got the confidence to…”, “I’m not sure I’m ready”, “I don’t know if I’m good enough” or “I’ve never done it before.” These are signals that you can learn and grow rather than psychological barriers.

Psychologists characterise imposter syndrome as more specific and complex:

• A persistent belief that you’re not the kind of person who belongs in your role
• The conviction that your success is due to luck or deception rather than capability
• A fundamental misalignment between your identity and your position
• The fear of being ‘found out’ as a fraud

The key distinction is that imposter syndrome is about identity rather than capability. It’s not about what you can do – it’s about who you believe you are.

This is why gaining another qualification, taking a training course, reading more books, or trying to be like someone who you see as ‘more successful’ than you doesn’t banish the imposter gremlin. Those are all examples of slapping a plaster on the wound and ultimately only serve to make us more exhausted. All of those things, and more, are added items on our already full to-do lists.

Work-life balance vs work-life fit

The way to manage the imposter gremlin is to understand your self-identity.
The role of work in our lives is a vast topic and we are only just scratching the surface, because both work and our lives have evolved so significantly. The pandemic, technological advancements and shifting social values have transformed not just where and how we work, but our fundamental relationship with work itself.

What was once a clear delineation between professional and personal has blurred into something more complex. We’ve moved from seeing work as simply a means of income to understanding it as a component of our identity, a reflection of our values and a source of fulfilment – or conversely, a source of stress and internal conflict.

Whilst grappling with this complexity a lot of discussion has become bogged down in buzzwords and polarised debates over flexible working. While we should be reimagining work for a new era, we’re instead forced to defend against those who would roll back progress, leaving our collective energy squandered on yesterday’s battles rather than invested in tomorrow’s solutions.

We don’t need performative confidence; the real change comes from building an authentic identity.

So, in this context we’re missing the deeper conversation about how these changes to work, our lives, and what it means to us, affects our sense of self, our feelings of belonging, and yes – our experience with our imposter gremlin.

When over 80% of marketers report experiencing imposter syndrome, it’s beyond a crisis of confidence. We’re witnessing the growing pains of an industry – and a workforce – trying to navigate these profound shifts. The exhaustion of feeling the imposter gremlin on our shoulders is magnified by our attempts to fit our evolving selves into outdated expectations and frameworks.

I really don’t like the term work-life balance because the whole idea of being balanced feels precarious. Like it will topple over at any second. I prefer to think about work-life fit, where the elements of my life are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. In my workshops I get people to visually recreate the elements of their life and figure out how they fit together, which is especially useful if something changes and the elements need rearranging.

‘Overwhelmed and undervalued’: Half of marketers grappling with ‘emotional exhaustion’

I’ve written previously about how my roles as a marketer and a mum inform each other. For me, I’m a better parent because I work and I’m a better professional because I’m a parent. These represent two significant (but not the only) facets of my identity and they don’t have to exist in tension with one another – despite this being the dominant narrative we encounter.

Phrases like ‘We can have it all, just not all at once’ may appear wise and measured on the surface, but they perpetuate a problematic assumption that our various roles and aspirations must be in competition with each other. This kind of thinking only serves to feed the imposter gremlin.

I find the jigsaw approach liberating. When we stop trying to fit into someone else’s idea of how we ‘should’ be, how we ‘should’ feel, or how we ‘should’ see ourselves, we can step away from the exhausting performance of confidence and into an authentic understanding of our identity.

Values, purpose and self-belief

A role or job title doesn’t define professional identity – at least, it shouldn’t. Yet many of us unconsciously conflate these things with who we are, creating vulnerability when roles or titles change or evolve. In my view, there needs to be deeper self-reflective work done on developing a professional identity for individuals that transcends specific roles or titles. This approach isn’t just more authentic; it’s quite freeing and links to longevity and impact across a career.

When we build a professional identity based on our unique blend of skills, values and purpose – rather than a job description or organisational chart – we create something portable and enduring. This foundation helps us navigate change with greater resilience, because our sense of self isn’t tied to a particular position that could disappear with the next restructure or career transition.

‘Massive warning sign’: Marketers on the ‘seismic’ scale of imposter syndrome

This work begins with understanding our values – and I mean truly understanding them, not just selecting three appealing words from a corporate workshop list. It requires reflection on what genuinely matters to us, how these values manifest in our work and when we’ve felt most aligned with them. This demands honesty: Which values do you aspire to versus those that actually drive your decisions? The gap between these can be a significant source of professional dissonance and, yes, imposter syndrome.

Similarly, understanding your professional purpose provides direction across roles and organisations. Purpose doesn’t have to be about grandiose missions to change the world (although it certainly can be). It’s about identifying the consistent threads of meaning that make your work fulfilling. For some, this might be solving complex problems. For others, it’s nurturing talent or building connections. When we connect with purpose, we’re less likely to feel like imposters because we’re focused on contribution rather than performance.

Underlying both values and purpose is the bedrock of self-belief. Not the superficial ‘Just be confident’ advice that peppers LinkedIn feeds, but genuine self-understanding and self-respect. This involves acknowledging both strengths and limitations, understanding the unique perspective you bring and recognising that your worth isn’t determined by comparison to others or external validation.

‘It’s not my syndrome’: How marketers can stop feeling like imposters

This ‘light’ triad – values, purpose and self-belief – creates a professional identity that serves as an anchor during change and a compass during decision-making. It doesn’t get rid of the imposter gremlin, but it provides a stronger foundation from which to challenge those feelings when they arise. When you know who you are professionally beyond your current role, you’re better equipped to recognise when the gremlin is speaking and when it’s your authentic professional self.

So, in the moment, let your imposter gremlin whisper, acknowledge it for what it is and keep moving forward. We don’t need performative confidence; the real change comes from building an authentic identity. Your energy is better spent finding ways to understand yourself professionally, through self-reflection, journaling, workshops, coaching, mentoring, career conversations, peer support groups, or whatever approach resonates with you.

The stronger that foundation grows, the easier those whispers become to handle and the more confidently you can show up as yourself.

You don’t have to feel exhausted by fighting your imposter gremlin all the time.

Laura Chamberlain is an award-winning professor at Warwick Business School, a marketer, career strategist and coach. She is also founder of self-development consultancy Think Talk Thrive.