Imposter Syndrome in Coaches: What Does It Really Tell Us?
Jenny Williams (United Kingdom)
In my thirties, I landed my dream job in marketing. Around the same time, I came across the Peter Principle, the idea that people are promoted to a level where they are no longer competent. It rumbled in my head. Is this me? Have I been promoted to a level where I can no longer deliver?
This is classic impostor syndrome and a familiar theme in many coaching conversations, particularly in corporate environments. As coaches, we become highly skilled at helping others navigate these thoughts. We know how to unpack them, challenge them and move clients forward. But are we as skilled in navigating it in ourselves?
Perhaps the more useful question is not why coaches experience impostor syndrome, but how we are understanding it. Too often, we assume it is purely personal. That it sits within us as a lack of confidence or capability. But what if that is only part of the picture. What if some of what we are experiencing is not just about us, but about the situation we are in and the system we are operating within.
In my work, I describe this through the lens of Professional Doubt. It is an umbrella term that brings together three distinct but connected types of doubt. It recognises that what we experience is not just internal but shaped by the situation we are in and the system we operate within.
Self-doubt is the internal voice. It shows up as questions about capability, credibility and belonging. This is where impostor syndrome sits. It is personal, often emotional, and can feel exposing. Coaching is a profession that can quietly amplify this. It attracts people who want to help others, but also those who hold themselves to high standards. Layer onto this the profession’s strong orientation towards self-development, and a familiar question can take hold. Have I done enough work on myself to be able to help my clients? Or more simply, am I enough?
But not all doubt sits within us.
Situational doubt is shaped by the context we are operating in. Coaching is, by its nature, complex, relational and often ambiguous. We sit alongside high performers, often at the top of their game, and it is not uncommon for comparison to creep in. Why are they coming to me for coaching? The gap between how we see ourselves and how we perceive others can become more pronounced.
There is also something about the stance we take as coaches. Our attention is focused on the other, on the client, their thinking and their needs. Over time, this can reduce our ability to see ourselves and our own needs clearly. When our focus is consistently outward, it can become harder to calibrate internally, which can raise doubts and uncertainty about ourselves.
The work itself adds to this. Coaching outcomes are often imprecise. Clients come wanting to feel more confident, more clear, more effective in how they communicate and lead. We may witness shifts in the session, but we rarely see those changes play out in real time. Instead, we hear about them second hand. This makes impact harder to measure and easier to question. We can find ourselves asking whether we are having the impact we need to have, or whether someone else might do it better.
Source: iCN Issue 54 (Coaching Practice & Innovation); page 34
About Jenny Williams
MCC, Executive and Team Coach and Author of Brilliant Doubt. As a leading Executive and Systemic Team Coach, Jenny has lectured at Cambridge University on leadership and entrepreneurship. She has spent thousands of hours working with exceptional leaders, helping them harness the power of doubt as a catalyst for clarity, creativity, and confidence. Her work has established her in the top 4% of coaches globally with an International Coaching Federation certification as a Master Coach. Jenny is also the author of Brilliant Doubt: Harnessing uncertainty to lead with impact, a book that argues doubt, not certainty, is the skill leaders need to thrive in an unpredictable world.
