[hajak]

I would say it never goes away. I have built companies, angel invested, ran M&A. Still, I always think I am clueless.

I am starting to view it more as a power. "You cannot learn what you already think you know". Having imposter's syndrome means I always will fight harder to get better.

[good_vibes]

This makes me feel a lot better. I have a fear of being 'called out' one day by people who are 'experts'.

I like to always remind myself 'in the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few'.

[KineticLensman]

What is the difference between a novice and an expert?

The novice thinks twice before doing something stupid

[hajak]

I quit my job once when I realized I was no longer afraid of being called out :D

[airbreather]

Sometimes the "experts" know, or think they know, so well what needs to be done that they are not open to other possibilities which may even be better.

You might not realise it, but there are great benefits to being new in your field. When you are not steeped in the conventional wisdom of a given profession, you can ask questions that haven't been asked before or approach problems in ways others haven't thought of. It's no surprise, for example, that some of the best research ideas I get as a professor come from undergraduate students with little previous experience. Read more at https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2016/07/embrace-the-advantage-...

[Bahamut]

Nobody starts out as an expert. Or put another way, everyone is a beginner at some point.

[hyperbovine]

What's really scary is when you realize that almost nobody, no matter how successful, knows what they are doing. We're all just making it up as we go.

[roughplace]

I would like to add to this, i got asked the question recently in context of the workplace 'When did you realise that in fact, outside of governmental, there are no rules?'

outside of your own moral and ethical values and the rules of Law we are free to do as we please, largely without consequence. By realising this you allow yourself to question the norm and start to understand how to change it

[matt_s]

I had an older, wiser worker relate to me this exactly. He was a line worker in a GM production facility and a while after working there realized his foreman just absolutely couldn't have a clue about what their job. He made some suggestions and soon enough was promoted to line foreman.

A while after that he started to realize that his supervisor just absolutely didn't have a clue with how to supervise the shifts, the lines, etc. And on up the mgmt chain, he slowly realized nobody really knew what they were doing.

I think this is especially true of management at all levels and most professional workers, aka knowledge workers. There really isn't a "book" or a how-to for this type of work. If you have some skills and knowledge of how to acquire more skills, you are good. Just don't be afraid to admit, at least to yourself, that you don't know something but then seek to learn whatever it is that you don't know.

[vfulco]

Could imposter syndrome be a blessing in disguise? I am re-inventing myself building a professional services firm for individuals in Shanghai, China (resumes, interview coaching, LI Profiles, academic docs). The sheer spread of skills needed to grow the company keeps me energized and "hungry" every day. That and the tsunami of tools available to biz dev all aspects of the venture suggests imposter syndrome won't go away anytime soon.

[vvanders]

This is excellent. There's definitely an element of being called out on something you don't know in detail acting as a forcing function of curiosity/learning.