Suffering From Imposter Syndrome? | Blog | Corke Wallis

Do you have I M P O S T E R syndrome?

Does it damage your confidence?

Here’s how to change that.

I recently caught up with an old colleague after a looooong time. You know the type of catch-up - slightly awkward at first, but after about five minutes, it’s like no time has passed at all. Well, almost. Our cocky younger versions had clashed a bit. He reminded me of it (thanks for that) and then casually explained that his behaviour back then was down to being hell-bent on escaping his modest origins.

Feeling suitably disarmed, I found myself confessing something back to him: I'd been disguising imposter syndrome my entire professional life. It’s a truth I’ve wrestled with endlessly - particularly in rooms full of Oxbridge consultants, deep-tech brains, and ARCHITECTS (something about architects makes me inexplicably nervous; maybe it's all that tasteful eyewear).

His response was brilliant (and he wrote an excellent Newsletter on it). He simply said:

“Clients need you to be an imposter; otherwise, you are not adding any value.”

Boom. There it was. A small yet perfectly formed revelation.

It's a perspective I’d never considered, but it instantly resonated. If you're completely comfortable and entirely sure of what you're doing, chances are you're not pushing boundaries or bringing fresh ideas to the table. You're just coasting. And nobody hires someone just to coast (well, not twice).

This reminded me of another enlightening conversation I'd had - this time with a friend during one of those classic moments of venting frustrations of a shared industry (always cathartic). I was complaining that every job seems relentlessly difficult and how, somehow, it never seems to get any easier. I was expecting sympathy, or at least a bit of agreement before moving onto the next grumble, but instead got something profound.

They said: “If you don’t know what you're doing, then you must be doing something new. Which is exactly what you’re supposed to be doing.”

In other words, that nagging feeling of being slightly out of your depth isn’t just okay - it’s essential. If you're feeling comfortable all the time, chances are you're not really growing. Comfort is lovely, sure, but growth never happens inside a comfort zone. (If it did, we'd all be billionaires with perfect teeth.)

Imposter syndrome, then, can actually be viewed as a positive indicator. It means you're pushing yourself, doing things you haven’t quite mastered yet, and staying hungry for improvement. It also means you're likely adding genuine value to whatever project or client you're working with because you're bringing fresh perspectives, questioning the norms, and refusing to settle for the obvious or easy path.

Sincerely, to anyone out there who struggles with confidence or has ever felt like a total fraud while giving a presentation or pitching an idea, recognising this simple truth is liberating. It’s okay to feel like an outsider. It’s okay to feel slightly out of control - this discomfort is actually proof you're moving forward, doing meaningful work, and evolving.

Think about it this way: nobody ever achieved greatness by comfortably knowing exactly what they were doing every step of the way. The Wright brothers probably felt like imposters when they took flight for the first time (and undoubtedly were glad nobody from Oxford was there critiquing their wing design).

So, instead of trying to fight off imposter syndrome like it’s some kind of disease, maybe we should lean into it. Embrace that feeling of uncertainty because it's telling you something vital - you're on the right track. Celebrate the moments when you're not quite sure because those are the moments where growth actually happens.

So:

Embrace it.

Celebrate it.

And proudly remain…

I M P O S T E R ®