Indonesian billionaire Nadiem Makarim appears to have entrepreneurship and life in general all figured out. In 2010, Makarim founded Gojek, which would become Indonesia’s first startup valued at over US$10 billion. From 2021 to October of 2024, he was the country’s Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology and used his talent for disruption to revolutionize the way young Indonesians are taught. Add a successful wife and three daughters to the mix, and Makarim is the embodiment of “having it all.”
So, imagine the surprise at a gathering of entrepreneurs in Singapore when the Harvard MBA admitted he has struggled with imposter syndrome throughout his career. “If I had to be honest about what was the hardest thing for me to struggle with internally, it’s constantly the fear of failure, the fear of being discovered as an imposter,” Makarim told attendees of the TiE Global Entrepreneurship Summit. “Every founder here will recognize it, even if we don’t admit it to other people, it’s there.”
Makarim isn’t alone. A 2020 review of 67 studies on the prevalence of imposter syndrome showed that over 80% of the population struggles with feeling like they are not as competent as others perceive them to be. As the body of research on imposter syndrome grows, trends are emerging on the types of people who are the most vulnerable to doubting their own abilities.
The founder of the US-based Imposter Syndrome Institute, Dr. Valerie Young, says imposter syndrome can be triggered by many factors: parents who linked love to achievement, striving to gain recognition in a chaotic household, or even being part of a certain group.
“The U.S. rates are highest among Asian Americans, people with disabilities, or anyone on the receiving end of stereotypes about competence and intelligence,” said Young. “Women experience it more, as do people of colour and people in creative fields, like broadcasting, acting, writing, and information-dense, rapidly changing fields, like STEM,” she explained. “Even organizational culture can fuel self-doubt.”
In addition to identifying vulnerable groups, a portrait of five distinct types of imposter syndrome is starting to emerge from the research.
In her book The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women and Men: Why Capable People Suffer from Imposter Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It, Young identifies the five most common “competence distortions” among professionals:
These behaviours are meant to project a façade of competence but are impossible to maintain throughout an entire career. The end result is usually an unhealthy combination of emotional exhaustion and quiet self-loathing.
Those who feel like they don’t deserve their success also experience higher rates of other conditions like depression, anxiety, and burnout.
While a picture of the breadth and manifestations of imposter syndrome is emerging from the research, empirical evidence on what actually works to counter destructive feelings of self-doubt has been elusive.
Young says to forget about making a list of your achievements; it doesn’t work. “People with imposter syndrome don’t forget that they won an Oscar or became a senior leader in their organization. They don’t need a pep talk,” she said.
So, what separates those who are able to enjoy their success from those who are secretly enshrouded in shame? Successful leaders often describe two techniques that help them remove or minimize the influence of imposter syndrome on their decision-making process.
Every human being on the planet is susceptible to cognitive distortions. Our brains are wired to hone in on negative thoughts, inflate risk, and generate negative thoughts that do not accurately reflect our competence. It is a primitive survival mechanism designed to keep us safe. This is why negative memories feature more prominently in our psyches than do accomplishments of which we should feel proud.
For example, if you lost a job in the past, chances are you will be hypervigilant and constantly scanning your current work environment for signs you are about to be fired. Something as innocuous as being accidentally left off of a mailing list could send you into a spiral of panic and self-doubt.
Imposter syndrome is a cognitive distortion that needs to be managed before you start engaging in behaviors that damage your career.
Makarim confided that one of his top priorities as an entrepreneur has been to carefully assess situations that trigger his discomfort: “I think the ability to not only manage risk but manage the way the brain perceives risk has been something I have been working on intentionally,” he said.
A crucial component of success is to understand this vestigial glitch in the human operating system and start challenging maladaptive thought processes that can affect your decisions.
While we all understand on an intellectual level that nobody is perfect, we often expect nothing less than perfection from ourselves.
“Everyone with imposter feelings has these distorted, unrealistic, unsustainable notions about what it means to be competent,” said Young. “It’s kind of like thinking as an actor that you’re going to win the Academy Award for every single role that you take. You’re not going to get every job. Every project isn’t going to be flawless. You’re going to make mistakes. And it’s all about failure analysis and moving forward and figuring out how you can do it better, differently. What did you learn?”
Makarim echoed this sentiment, describing a period of initial hesitation when he was offered the job as Indonesia’s Education Minister: “I have three young girls… and I have this image of them asking me during their teen years, ‘Why did you say no?’ I didn’t have an answer except that I was scared. Your dad was pretty much a coward and was scared of failure and falling on his face in front of the whole country,” he explained. “And then I thought of the alternative scenario, which is I took the job and still fell on my face. Which one of these is a better outcome? Which conversation do I want to have with my kids in about ten years’ time?”
Young says advancing beyond the confines of imposter syndrome requires a more nuanced, realistic view of what true competence looks like. In short, fear and self-doubt are part of the achievement journey.
Watch the full interview with Dr. Valerie Young here:
So, while the world views successful entrepreneurs with reverence and assumes they operate with boundless confidence that eludes most of the population, it could be that their true superpower is a deep understanding of their dark inner corners.
“A lot of people romanticize entrepreneurship and leadership in general, but it’s probably mostly pain and how to manage the structural insecurity that every founder has,” confided Makarim. “I think behind every entrepreneur is some form of a chip on the shoulder. Some people call it insecurities; some people call it trauma. It’s a need to prove something to the world. Now that is your weapon, but it is also your biggest ticking time bomb. If you don’t address that, either through therapy or meditation, it could be a very, very tricky thing for your mental health long term.”
Dr. Young agrees: “The reality is that feelings are the last to change. And in my view, the only way to stop feeling like an imposter is to stop thinking like an imposter.”
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