Stop feeling like a fake after a promotion: Start leading with evidence.
- Ajay Chikermane
- Jan 2
- 3 min read
You get the calendar invite: “Leadership sync — quick update on delivery risk.”
Ten minutes later you’re on the call, someone asks, “So what’s the plan?” and your brain does that fun thing where it becomes a blank loading screen.
You used to be the person with the answers. Now you’re the person who must decide what the answers should be—through other people, with incomplete information, while everyone watches your face for confidence.
After the call, you replay every sentence. You open Slack and type three different versions of your follow-up message because the first two sound “too junior.”
Welcome to imposter syndrome new manager mode.
If you haven’t read the: The Engineer-to-Leader Shift: From Technical Expert to People-Centred Leader. START HERE FIRST
The Friction (What It Looks Like)
You might notice…
You over-prepare for meetings you used to breeze through
You talk more than you want to (because silence feels like exposure)
You hesitate to make calls unless you have “enough data”
You do “one more pass” on a message so you don’t sound incompetent
You keep waiting for someone to discover you’re not a “real” leader
What’s Really Going On (Simple Explanation)
This usually isn’t about capability. It’s about role math.
You got promoted, but your brain is still scoring you on your old job:
Old job: “Be right.”
New job: “Be clear.”
When you’re a new manager, competence stops being “I can solve it” and starts being “I can set direction, ask the right questions, and help the team solve it.”
The Cost (Why It Matters)
If you treat “I feel like a fake” as evidence you are a fake, you’ll start compensating:
You become the bottleneck because doing it yourself feels safer
You avoid hard conversations because you don’t feel “senior enough”
You burn time polishing instead of leading
Your team gets less clarity, not more
And the worst part: you don’t get to build trust, because you’re too busy trying to prove you deserve your seat.
The Reframe (One Sentence)
Imposter syndrome as a new manager isn’t a verdict. It’s a signal your role has changed—and your evidence system hasn’t caught up yet.
The Tool (Step-by-Step)
The 10-Minute Role Evidence Reset
This is a fast way to stop using “feelings” as your performance review.
Step 1 — Write the new job in plain language (2 minutes)
Answer: “In this role, I’m paid to…”
Pick three responsibilities max. Examples:
Set priorities and trade-offs
Reduce risk by asking earlier, not later
Grow people so output scales without me
Step 2 — Build a tiny evidence log (5 minutes)
Make a 3-column note:
New job behaviour (what good looks like now)
What I did this week (specific actions)
Impact (what changed because of it)
Step 3 — Add one line of self-compassion (3 minutes)
Not “positive affirmations.” Just accuracy.
Finish the note with:
“It makes sense this feels unfamiliar. I’m learning a new job, not failing an old one.”
That’s Self-Compassion (CORE) in practice: you stay accountable without turning every learning moment into self-attack.
How to use it:
Before a high-stakes meeting, read the three responsibilities + one evidence line. You’re not trying to feel fearless. You’re trying to show up grounded.
Common Objections (Mini FAQ)
But what if I really don’t know what I’m doing?
Then you’re in the normal part of a new job. Use Script 1. Leadership isn’t knowing everything—it’s creating a clean path to the next best decision.
But won’t this make me seem weak?
Vagueness looks weaker than clarity. “I’ll confirm and return with a recommendation by 3pm” reads as control, not collapse.
But my team is more senior than me technically.
Great. Your job isn’t to out-senior them. Your job is to create conditions where their seniority turns into outcomes: priorities, decisions, escalation paths, and fewer surprises.
But what if I was promoted because of politics and I don’t deserve it?
Even if that story were true, the only useful question is: what does the role require now? The Role Evidence Reset keeps you in behaviour and impact—not courtroom drama in your head.
But I don’t have time for another “exercise.”
This is 10 minutes and replaces 2 hours of rumination and message-rewriting. Do it once. Then reuse the note.
Right now, are you judging yourself with your old job description… while trying to do a new job?
Let’s talk about how to replace imposter syndrome patterns with clear leadership moves—so you can lead calmly, delegate sooner, and stop over-proving every day.
Related posts (coming soon)
Confidence Isn’t Loud. It’s Clear.
Decision-Making When You Don’t Have All the Data
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