One of my all time favourite TED Talks is Kelly McGonigal’s “How to Make Stress Your Friend.” If you haven’t seen it, it’s a brilliant, and science-backed reframe of something we all experience: stress.
Instead of treating stress as the enemy, she encourages us to see it as the body’s way of rising to a challenge. It’s like a built-in support system that gets us ready to take something important on. Lately, I’ve been wondering if imposter syndrome could benefit from the same kind of reframe.
Product managers are especially vulnerable to imposter syndrome
Imposter syndrome comes up a lot in my conversations with other product managers, especially those early in their careers. There's often an undercurrent of quiet self-doubt, a lingering question of: "Am I really the right person to be doing this?"
This feeling isn’t unique to product management, but it does seem especially common in this role. Product managers operate in highly cross-functional environments, often without direct authority, but they are expected to drive alignment and deliver results across design, engineering, marketing, and the business.
When I first became a product manager, I often felt imposter syndrome when providing feedback to the design team. They were experts in crafting intuitive user experiences, and I found myself wondering if I had enough experience to critique their work?
Over time, I realized that my perspective brought something different and equally valuable to the table. I had insights from user data, business goals, and customer feedback that could complement their expertise. As we collaborated more, I learned that they respected my input just as I respected theirs, and mutual respect was built by being brave enough to provide insights even through uncertainty.
Finding your footing in a new role
Starting a new role as a product manager can also quickly stir up imposter syndrome, even for experienced PMs. You leave behind the domain knowledge, team norms, and context that once anchored your decisions, and suddenly your internal compass feels off.
I experienced this myself after joining a new organization. With a high revenue goal and multiple competing priorities, I had to make the tough call to cut projects from the Q4 roadmap so we could focus on what mattered most. As the new person, I questioned whether I should be the one making that decision: was I seeing things clearly, or just overstepping?
What I’ve learned is that managing imposter syndrome in a new role isn’t about silencing it, it’s about learning to work alongside it. When everything feels uncertain, curiosity becomes your greatest asset.
Asking questions, seeking context, and being transparent about what you’re still learning has helped me build trust faster than pretending to have all the answers. It also helped me to zoom out and remember that no one expects instant mastery, especially in product management, where success depends on collaboration, not individual expertise.
AI-fueled imposter syndrome
Recently, imposter syndrome has hit me while pitching AI powered products to our leadership and engineering teams, even though I still feel like a beginner in that space. I found myself working to project confidence in standups, roadmap reviews, and executive meetings, yet that confidence often felt at odds with how I actually felt inside.
When I feel imposter syndrome sneaking into my AI conversations, I’ve been thinking about Kelly McGonigal’s Ted Talk, and I’ve started to wonder if it might actually be a good sign. A sign that I’m growing. A sign that I’m stepping into something new and important.
Imposter syndrome could be your biggest cheerleader
Recently, I’ve started to visualize imposter syndrome as a sort of cheerleader. It shows up at the exact moments when we’re pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones, when we probably need that extra encouragement.
Imposter syndrome might be there as a cheerleader when:
- You’re leading a roadmap meeting for the first time and wondering if anyone is listening
- You’ve just moved into a senior role and the weight of decisions feels heavier
- You’re about to pitch an idea in a room where you’re not sure your voice belongs
And maybe that’s not a flaw. Maybe it’s a signal. Maybe it’s your brain’s way of saying, “Hey, this moment matters. Pay attention. You’re stretching.”
Some of the best product managers I know are the ones who regularly feel like they’re not doing quite enough, or not expert enough, and instead of letting that paralyze them, they let it fuel curiosity, humility, and growth. They ask more questions. They listen closely. They care deeply.
So now, when imposter syndrome creeps in, I try not to push it away. I say: “There you are. Thanks for showing up. I must be doing something right again.”
