Why do I feel like a fraud after decades of experience?

Because the feeling tracks novelty rather than competence. It shows up most in people doing something unfamiliar and hard, which describes everybody who has just left a structure they knew for one they are building. Research puts it at roughly seventy percent of high performers, which makes it a poor signal of ability and a decent signal that you are doing something new.

Does imposter syndrome mean I am not ready?

Usually the opposite. It spikes when the work is real and the stakes are yours. Waiting for it to pass before you start is how people spend a year getting ready, and it does not pass through preparation. It passes through repetition.

How do I get past it?

Treat it as a signal rather than a verdict, then go have a conversation with a real buyer. The feeling is loudest in your own head and quietest in a meeting where somebody describes a problem you have already solved ten times.

Overqualified at 40-60 and Feeling Like a Fraud? that is the Signal.

You are 40-60, "overqualified," and quietly wondering if you are a fraud.

Let me tell you something: that feeling means you are doing something extraordinary.

I felt it for five years at Shell.

"I got lucky. I'm not actually that good."

What I Did not Realize at the Time

I had already built PGA TOUR Network and co-founded Chief Outsiders.

I joined Shell as a total outsider to oil and gas, started SURGE Ventures, invested in 60 energy-tech startups, and built one of the largest networks in energy technology.

Then I left at 47 and built Eleox and InspirePlay, 150K YouTube subscribers in 12 months.

And I still felt like a fraud every single time.

"The feeling didn't mean I was failing. It meant I was in new water."

The Truth About Imposter Syndrome

70% of people experience it. Including the people you would never suspect:

Maya Angelou: "I have written eleven books, but each time I think, 'Uh oh, they're going to find out now.'"
Mike Cannon-Brookes (Atlassian co-chief executive officer (CEO)): attended board meetings at his $1.6B company writing down acronyms to Google later.

If you are feeling like an imposter right now, you are not broken.

You are a corporate refugee with 20 years of expertise doing something most people never dare to try.

Reframe It

The system is rigged, not you.

I keep seeing this on calls. Your experience is your advantage. The discomfort is just the tax on doing something new.

"Your title changed. Your value didn't."

I would stop questioning your worth. I would start building something you control..

Join 1,000+ Corporate Refugees and tell your story: theretern.com/newsletter

The work is serious. The life does not have to be.

Now if you will excuse me, I have a tee time to keep.

Kirk Coburn is the founder of The ReTern and category creator of the fractional executive movement. He introduced the term "Fractional CMO" to the market in 2009 when he co-founded Chief Outsiders, which has since served 2,000+ clients. When he is not helping corporate refugees build fractional practices, he is usually on the golf course by 2 PM.

Common questions

Overqualified at 40-60 and Feeling Like a Fraud? that is the Signal.

What I Did not Realize at the Time

The Truth About Imposter Syndrome

Reframe It

Common questions

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