The Short Version

• Imposter feelings are temporary states of self-doubt that often surface during moments of growth, change or visibility.
• Entrepreneurs are especially vulnerable due to the constant demands of leadership and high-stakes decision-making.
• These feelings can lead to risk avoidance, burnout from overworking and difficulty recognizing success.
• Understanding what triggers imposter feelings is key to managing them effectively.
• Executive coach Tiffany Houser offers strategies to help entrepreneurs normalize, explore and regulate imposter feelings for long-term growth.

For entrepreneurs, moments of self-doubt — an internal voice whispering they’re not good enough, experienced enough or simply don’t have what it takes — can be frequent and intense. Often defined as “imposter syndrome,” these thoughts are more accurately described as imposter feelings, or temporary states of insecurity that tend to arise during moments of visibility, growth or change.

“I always like to add the disclaimer that it’s not a syndrome,” said Tiffany Houser, founder and CEO of Evolve, a company that coaches entrepreneurs and executives on leadership and mindset. “It’s just a feeling. It’s just a state. It’s not a permanent thing. It comes and goes depending on what’s going on.”

What Imposter Feelings Really Are — and Why They’re Not a Syndrome

Imposter feelings occur when someone begins to question their value or doubt their right to be in the position they’re in. These emotions often surface during times of personal or professional growth, or when a new challenge presents itself, said Houser.

“You’re either just not feeling yourself, or you’re choosing not to be authentic or not to believe that you are valuable or worthy in the moment,” she explained.

These feelings tend to fall into two categories:

• Common imposter feelings are the everyday internal doubts many people experience. These might show up as second-guessing your decisions — even after they’ve been made — discounting praise (thinking, for instance: “they’re just trying to be nice”) or constantly comparing yourself to others and feeling like you don’t measure up.
• Toxic imposter feelings stem from the same insecurity but get projected outward. “Toxic imposter feeling is something that you’re choosing not to feel yourself,” said Houser. “So you will project it out.”

In practice, this might look like being overly defensive when receiving feedback, unnecessarily questioning authority or colleagues to prove your competence or reacting with skepticism toward others’ ideas or success, she said.

Why Entrepreneurs Are Especially Vulnerable to Imposter Feelings

Entrepreneurs are constantly navigating the unfamiliar. “We’re in a constant state of new, a constant state of change, and a constant state of visibility,” Houser said.

And with greater visibility comes greater responsibility.

“If you’re a consistent entrepreneur, you probably want to grow your business. You don’t want to stay at two customers forever. Eventually, you’re aiming for 40 or even 400,” she said. “That growth brings more visibility, more responsibility. And imposter feelings? If you plot them on a matrix, they rise as those two factors rise. The more visible and responsible you are, the wider the door opens to those feelings.”

Imposter feelings tend to be most common among those in leadership positions, Houser added. “Most entrepreneurs call themselves CEO or president. And really it’s because a lot of people believe they need to have all the answers. They think they need to get it right all the time.”

When Imposter Feelings Tend To Show Up Most

The path of entrepreneurship isn’t linear, and neither are the emotions that come with it, Houser noted.

“That’s why I call it a roller coaster,” she said. “You think: ‘I’ve made it to the top,’ and then the feelings hit. Then you’re fine. You recalibrate, reorient yourself and start climbing again. Everything’s great—until the drop, or the twist, or you get flipped upside down.”

The goal, said Houser, isn’t to eliminate imposter feelings but to understand their root causes.
“Most people just want to fix it. And that’s great. But let’s figure out what’s causing it so we can fix it the right way for you.”

How Imposter Feelings Quietly Sabotage Business Growth

Unchecked imposter feelings can quietly sabotage your business growth. Here’s how:

• You hesitate to take risks. You might hold back from launching a new product or applying for a grant because you fear you’re not “ready enough,” said Houser.
  
  For instance: An entrepreneur with a great product idea might delay pitching to investors because they think they don’t belong in the room.
• You overwork to “earn your spot.” People experiencing imposter feelings often try to prove their worth by over-delivering, which can lead to burnout.
  
  For instance: A retail store owner might insist on doing everything themselves — stocking shelves, handling customer service, designing displays, managing social media — because they worry that delegating will make them look like they’re not working hard enough or don’t know what they’re doing, Houser explained.
• You don’t celebrate wins. When you chalk up success to luck or timing instead of your own skill, you miss the chance to build confidence and momentum, said Houser.
  
  For instance: Instead of pausing to acknowledge hitting a major sales goal, you immediately jump to worrying about whether you can sustain it, undermining your sense of achievement.

3 Practical Ways To Manage Imposter Feelings

You can’t eliminate imposter feelings entirely, but you can learn to manage them effectively. Here are a Houser’s tips:

1. Normalize the feeling

   “It’s just a feeling. It comes and goes,” she said. “There is never a sense of ‘I got it figured out.’”

   Reminding yourself that these feelings are normal, especially in high-pressure, high-growth moments, can keep them from spiraling into self-sabotage, she said.
2. Get curious about the cause
   
   “Let’s figure out what’s causing it so we can solve it accurately,” Houser said. To do that, ask yourself what triggered the feeling. Was it a new challenge? A public moment? A comparison to someone else? The better you understand the root cause of the doubt, the better you can respond.
3. Create your own system for self-regulation

   “Finding the specific or customized tools and strategies for you to regulate yourself and coach yourself through those challenging moments — that’s the real work,” Houser said.

   For some people, that might mean journaling. For others, it could be seeking peer support, repeating mantras or tracking, and posting, past wins to build confidence.

   Ultimately, it’s about “grounding yourself in self-awareness, inner peace and trust,” Houser said. “These are the foundational tools upon which everything else can be built.”