From Fraud to Freedom

Leading workshops and giving keynotes on the environment in which impostor syndrome grows and research-based strategies to grow through it, both as an individual and as an organization.

Wrote and published From Fraud to Freedom, a self-development book on growing through self-doubt and impostor syndrome.

Podcast appearances: 
The Product Management Mastermind
One Knight in Product 
Lessons in Product Management 
Product ManagHER
Opal’s Shine a Light On 
Product Magic 
Product for Product 
Unmuted Generations 
Addicted to Growth

Speaking engagements: 
Tufts University 
Mind the Product 2022 sf+Americas conference
QuestBridge Convene national conference 
ProductTank RVA
Women in Tech at DWave 
Alpha Kappa Psi at San Diego State University 
Mentor Mesh book club
Trust & Will
Product QTies
Mentor Mesh Experience Conference 
CarMax Women’s Employee Resource Group
Black at Redfin Employee Resource Group

Impostor Syndrome Speaker, Author, and Coach

Garden Based

Marketing Consultant

Redfin

Our mission is to redefine real estate in your favor.

Customer Growth Product Manager

Please message directly for paid speaking engagements or workshops. Thank you! 

Get your copy of From Fraud to Freedom here https://tinyurl.com/2p94tpwt

If you've ever felt like an impostor, doubting your own accomplishments, or secretly fearing that you don't truly belong where you are, then "From Fraud to Freedom" is a must-read. This research-informed book delves into the heart of impostor syndrome, a challenge that even high-achievers like Michelle Obama have experienced.

The book is your guide to overcoming self-doubt and embracing your achievements. I share insights, stories, and strategies to help you navigate the common yet often overlooked challenge of impostor syndrome. With a focus on solutions and practical advice, this book empowers you to build a healthier relationship with your doubt.

You'll learn that you're not alone in your feelings and discover that there are tangible ways to grow through impostor syndrome. As you turn the pages, you'll find the inspiration and tools you need to believe in your own greatness again and reasses your relationship with fear. 

Don't miss out on the opportunity to unlock your true potential and step into your well-deserved success. So, if you're ready to take the journey from fraud to freedom, get your copy and begin your transformation to empowerment today. 

‘From Fraud to Freedom’ Table of Contents 
0 - Introduction 
1 - Should We Talk about Impostor Syndrome?
2 - Myth Busters: Should You Fake It until You Make It?
3 - How Do I Let Go of Perfectionism?
4 - How Does Asking Questions Help with Impostor Syndrome?
5 - How Do I Become More Positive?
6 - How Can I See My Work as Successful?
7 - How Can I Embrace Compliments?
8 - How Does Race Impact Impostor Syndrome?
9 - Are Women More Prone to Impostor Syndrome?
10 - Does Being First (Generation) Make You a Fraud?
11 - How Can Managers Ease Impostor Syndrome in Their Reports? 
12 - What Can Company Culture Do to Help Impostor Syndrome?
13 - To Freedom


I thought I'd feel the proudest when a celebrity was looking at my content. But coming to visit family for the holidays and seeing my little cousin watching one of my impostor syndrome talks that she found on the internet was a heartwarming feeling I wasn't anticipating. 💗

I assumed I wanted to be recognized by some entity out there and now I understand the greatest recognition comes from within the home, and even more within the self.

Winning at Grandma's >> winning the Grammy's
Though I'm happy to take both.
And proud that I'm doing what's necessary to make myself and others proud.

Happy Holidays!

Phyllis Njoroge 🤩

Impostor syndrome speaker & author | ‘From Fraud to Freedom’ book link in bio | Growth product management

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I started as an F pre-med student, but graduated Tufts University four years later with honors in Cognitive and Brain Sciences. 

After getting into one of the top universities in the country, I failed my first college exam.

I didn’t “feel like” I failed. 

It’s not that I just “barely passed.”

I literally got an F.

I remember staring at the grade thinking,

“If I can’t get this right, maybe I’m not meant to be here.”

It wasn’t the failure that hurt.

It was the identity crisis that followed.

I tied my worth to performance so tightly that a single setback felt like collapse.

I was premed for as long as I can remember. 

I had decided in elementary school gym class that I wanted to become a neurosurgeon because the gym teacher told us how much they make per hour.

This biology class was one of those “weed out” classes where everybody who isn’t truly interested was supposed to drop out due to demotivation.

But I refused to drop Bio13!

I dreamt of being a doctor since I was a single digit in age. 

This served as a wake up call in how much effort it would take.

The professor and I would become best friends from me asking so many questions before I let myself drop out of that class.

I went to every class, Office Hour, TA session, and study group I could find.

It was humbling.

It was never this hard to get an A before college;

Now here I was fighting for my life to be a part of the “C’s get degrees” club.

Perfectionism doesn’t protect you.

It imprisons you.

Failing that exam didn’t define me.

It grounded me.

It taught me to separate my humanity from my output,

my identity from my achievements,

and my value from one moment.

Perfection isn’t the standard.

Growth is.

What did you experience as a failure that ended up successfully redirecting you?

Impostor treatment & syndrome coach, speaker, author, leader | 5-star book link in bio | Growth product management

I’m tired of being quiet about something so many of us are suffocating under.

The first time I spoke publicly about impostor syndrome, I thought maybe 10–15 people would show up. 

I accepted the speaking request as a favor to a friend who was organizing a summit for first-generation students.

I showed up early to set up and was thoroughly confused by how many people were already in the room. I thought they might’ve been lingering from the past session. I didn’t think they were there early to hear me talk about something I thought only I cared about.

By the time my impostor syndrome session started, every seat in that room was full.

People had to stand along the walls in order to find space to fit. 

Additionally, others had to stand at the door and even more were directed to a different seminar since our room was overflowing. 

I wondered if the things that I had put on those slides the night before were really going to be worth these people’s time and anticipation. It was quite meta to be experiencing impostor syndrome as the presenter of a seminar on that very same issue.

My impostor syndrome talk as a sophomore in college ended up being one of the most highly attended and rated events of the summit!

That moment shifted everything for me.

Not because I felt successful.

But because I realized how quiet we are about something so many of us are suffocating under.

That’s the real problem.

Not the self-doubt.

The problem is the silence.

Impostor syndrome grows in isolation.

It shrinks in connection.

When we talk about it, we’re not exposing weakness.

We’re normalizing humanity.

What’s a moment where you realized you were not the only one struggling with something that affected you?

As a hiring manager, I can reassure you that you’re not bothering me by following up.

Let me start by saying that there’s no universal job search advice! All professionals are just people, and people have their preferences. 

You might come across someone who gets really irked by your follow-up messages, but optimizing for the exception will hinder your results more than irritating 1/1000 people you reach out to.

This is my preferred cadence for an initial message:
→ Right after application, to notify that you’ve applied and look forward to hearing back.
→ Right after conversation, to have next steps in writing.

Outside of those, I recommend:
→ 3 business days after the initial message (see above)
→ Every week after that.

If you want specific outreach templates depending on recipient, check out Product Career Accelerator and David Speigel 🔮 !

The best advice I ever heard about following up was:
“Get in touch with people like you’re actually trying to get in touch with them.” - Alex Hormozi 

Let me know in the comments so we can chime in about your concerns 👉 what makes you uncomfortable about sending outreach & followup messages?

I just changed my gender to male 

The effects are being experienced by thousands of women being affected by LinkedIn’s biased choices, including Anne Murphy who expresses that 

1. LinkedIn is quietly cutting women off from opportunities, income, and influence at scale, while reinforcing imbalances in tech and leadership.
 
2. Visibility gaps mean fewer women are seen as experts, founders, or senior leaders, which reduces role models for younger women. The downward spiral accelerates.

Of course, LinkedIn denies this. 

I changed my gender to male In settings because I can’t risk it. 

But you can decide for yourself and look up the multiple repeatable research studies and reputable journalism sources that cover the LinkedIn gender bias topic.

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You experience impostor syndrome because your standards move faster than your progress.

We often assume that imposter syndrome means we’re weak, unprepared, or lacking confidence.

But impostor feelings show up strongest in people who care deeply about doing well.

People who push, stretch, learn, and feel responsible for the outcomes of their work.

And because your ambition grows faster than your self-recognition, you don’t notice your progress - you only notice the gap.

One of my favorite creators, Dr Raquel Martin, posted recently that she shared with a friend that she’s disappointed that she won’t reach her goal of 900,000 followers on Instagram this year. 

There was a time when 500,000, or 50,000, or 5,000 was an accomplishment. 🤩

But with each milestone, the bar raises so we only see how far we have until the next peak while others are in awe of how tall we already stand.

Here’s what’s happening:

You’re evolving faster than your brain can update its identity.

So the goal isn’t to “feel more confident.”

It’s to correctly interpret the discomfort.

Impostor syndrome isn’t a sign that you’re behind.

You’re ahead of every milestone you’ve already passed.

You’re only “behind” the next one you chose to set.

That’s not failure; that’s growth.

What’s a milestone you reached this year that went uncelebrated?

Some of mine were:

- Getting my impostor syndrome book, From Fraud to Freedom, on Audible audiobook.

- Writing my second non-fiction book (to be published 2026)

- Selling out of my physical author copies of From Fraud to Freedom (time to restock!)

Let me know yours in the comments or in a message so we can celebrate together!

Standards faster than progress impostor syndrome 

Reasons I’ve acted like a beginner in something when I wasn’t:
- It wasn’t in my official job title
- I wasn’t paid to do it
- I know the mistakes I made despite finishing it successfully
- I didn’t do it on the largest possible scale
- I know how much I still don't know
- I falsely assumed everyone else knew more than me

Things I now do instead:
- Name transferable skills and experiences in my work
- Describe the scope of paid and unpaid responsibilities, personal and professional
- Acknowledge my accomplishments even if they were harder to achieve than presumed. Outcomes, amirite?
- Internalize my high-level approach to problem-solving so that I can apply it to varying scopes and industries
- Assure myself that literally no one knows everything so knowing what I don’t know doesn’t negate being able to use what I do
- Understand that we need each other as complements, not competition. I’m grateful for how others can contribute while I give my contributions too.

Just because you could have “greater” experience doesn’t mean you do not name your experience as some level of expertise.
You need to name the experience in a grounded way.

What experiences are you leaving out because of their title, pay, scale, or false assumptions about others?

Fix feeling beginner despite experience Phyllis Njoroge

I need more people to be full of themselves. There are so many people claiming work they didn’t do or results they didn’t achieve — while you’re downplaying your TRUE accomplishments in an attempt to appear humble. 

I rewatched the movie Wicked with my family on Thanksgiving and noticed something really interesting happen in the closing scene (spoiler alert if you haven’t watched it yet!):

- Elphaba was invited to be the only personal protégé of Madame Morrible.

- Elphaba was sent to the Wizard as someone of exceptional talent and skill, as the only person powerful enough to fulfill the Wizard’s needs.

- Elphaba was encouraged to use the Grimmerie (the ancient spellbook) even when she wasn’t sure if she was ready yet, yet everyone around her insisted that she had the unique ability to make it work.

Meanwhile, the Wizard can’t read the book at all and Madame Morrible can only read a few words of it after years of studying.

In contrast, Elphaba successfully cast a full spell with it on her first exposure. 

But AS SOON AS Elphaba decided to use her power for herself (especially in advocacy of the oppressed),

She was told she wasn’t ready yet 

She was told she can’t do it along 

She was told she was having “delusions of grandeur.”

She was was the best of the best until she decided to believe that for herself.

Then she became “wicked.”

Don’t let people put you in a cage of meekness or modesty as an attempt to keep you humble.

Humility is not thinking highly or lowly of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself AND others. 

None of us achieved what we have truly “alone” but just because you didn’t get here alone doesn’t mean you don’t get to acknowledge that you got here at all.

You deserve to celebrate your accomplishments. 

Aren’t they YOURS after all?

Be full of yourself Phyllis Njoroge impostor syndrome 

“Fake it till you make it” didn’t build your confidence.

Perseverance did.

We hear “fake it till you make it” like it’s a healthy mindset.

But pretending doesn’t create confidence - it creates pressure.

Because when you continuously perform a version of yourself that isn’t real:

- you disconnect from your actual strengths
- you amplify perfectionism
- you reinforce the fear of being “found out”
- you deny yourself space to learn openly

Real confidence comes from doing, not disguising.

When some people describe “faking it until you make it,” what they are actually construing is taking action in the face of fear.

They are characterizing courage, not falsehood. 

Even the person with the famous TED talk on “Fake it Till You Make it” wasn’t being fake.

Social psychologist Amy Cuddy revealed that when she attended graduate school at Princeton University, she felt like she shouldn’t have been there. 

As a result, she decided that she was going to quit. 

Her advisor, however, told Amy that quitting was *not* an option. 

Her Princeton advisor told Amy to sign up for every talk she could give.

Amy had to continue to participate despite her feelings of inadequacy until she finally started to feel like a competent doctoral candidate of the university. 

What Amy needed was valor, not falsehood!

She eventually “made it” in terms of getting comfortable speaking and presenting in front of others.

So much so that she went on to give a popular TED talk on the topic! 

Not because she was fake, but because she moved towards her goals 

*despite* genuine feelings of fear.

What you need is the courage to take small imperfect steps, 

not to fake an identity that doesn’t exist.

It’s baffling to me how common the advice is of “fake it until you make it”

when the whole fear with impostor syndrome is that they are an impostor in the first place!

Impostor syndrome is managed by living in your imperfections

Not lying about your perfectness.

Do you believe “fake it till you make it” helps or harms? Share your take.

How to say I don't know without sounding dumb:

“I’m currently looking into it and want to get more information so I can give you an accurate answer.”

“Based on what I know so far, the options are …. but I’ll review the details before confirming.”

“I don’t want to speculate so I’ll check and get back to you.”

“Good question. I haven’t explored that; what’s the context for the question?”

“If I were to give an answer right now, it’d be along the along the lines of…”

Some people are erasing their brilliance before anyone even gets a chance to see it.

You say “I don't know” not because there’s *nothing* in your brain, but because you only want to state things with certainty.

When I was in a software engineering class, the instructor called on me to live code for the prompt and I told him in front of the class that “I don't know.”

Instead of moving on to someone else, he asked me:

“What would your answer be if you were to make one up?”

Since I this felt like a hypothetical exploration rather than a pop quiz of my competence, I verbally gave some lines of code and called it a day.

Turns out that was exactly the right answer, 
line for line!

I’ve come to learn that saying “I don't know” misrepresents our thoughts. 

It makes us seem like we haven’t given thought to the topic a day in our lives.

Or that we’re blanking, out of nervousness.

Or didn’t prepare at all.

Meanwhile, none of that is often true.

The information feels shaky, so we misportray ourselves as having none at all.

Maggie Kuhn, an American social activist, said 

“Speak even if your voice shakes.”

I’ve found I seem to be getting a lot farther on things I allegedly “don’t know” when I give that a try.

Let me know in the comments: what’s your preferred way to say I don't know without sounding stupid?

How to say I don’t know -Phyllis Njoroge impostor syndrome

Impostor syndrome has a reputation for being a “woman thing”
despite how much it affects everyone across age, gender, nationality, industry, and levels of seniority.

Telling women to “be more confident”
while scrutinizing us for being confident is a coaching catch-22.

It would be unfair to make it seem as if inequity in society is just because women ‘need to be more confident.’

Yale School of Management conducted research where men and women rated a fictitious CEO who talked more than other people.

The result: BOTH sexes viewed the CEO as significantly less competent and less suited to leadership when the fictitious CEO was a woman, than a male CEO who talked for the same amount of time.

When the female CEO was described as talking LESS than others, her perceived competency shot up!

Nobody walks around offices saying “women are supposed to be seen and not heard” but the data suggests that is what we subconsciously believe. 

Women who exhibit the same confident behavior as men are unfairly perceived negatively, by both men and other women.

Since we work in tech, I’ll provide some data closer to home:
GitHub code written by women is approved at the highest rates for every programming language in the top 10, but only when their gender is hidden. (source in comments). 

The quality of our work can be higher than, if not equal to, that of our peers, yet we are rejected because of our gender.

Women don’t lack confidence.
We’re judged on impossible criteria that erode our confidence.

This is why I’m not just an impostor syndrome coach “for women”;
The dismantling needs to happen on a global scale
and telling women to “be more confident” is asking us to hold a labor that’s beyond our scope:
- creating an environment where anyone’s proven confidence is received as competence, regardless of demographic.

Who is a confident person in your industry you look up to? Tag them in the comments so we can celebrate rightfully confident leaders.

women don't need "more confidence" we need equitable assessment of our work - Phyllis Njoroge LinkedIn impostor syndrome 

If you’re constantly in a state of emergency, it’s not an emergency; it’s systemic failure.

A heart attack is a true emergency.

However, much of the corporate experience is manufactured emergencies.

Your dev estimates need 1.5-2x buffer.
Your meetings need to be booked for an hour instead of constantly running late.
Your commitment needs to be half the amount you’re overpromising.

Do things happen? Of course!
But if you find yourself in the same spot over and over again, recognize the pattern in your navigation.
A car accident is a one-off incident, but so many of us are constantly bracing for impact of imminent repeat crashes at work.

Crashes in our energy.
Crashes in our motivation.
Crashes in conflict with others.

I started setting timelines that match actual human capacity; not dystopian thinking that pretends people don’t need meals or sleep or weekends.

I book meetings for how long they take after I notice them always running over.

I send the slides async because I know I won’t be able to cover it during the call, even if I rushed like a bullettrain through every bullet.

Our work is not life or death, yet we give our whole lives to it as if it were until it brings us to death.
As a Black woman with an autoimmune disease, I can’t afford to constantly be in a state of emergency when my body already is.
Let me know in the comments how you avoid manufactured emergencies 👇

If you're constantly in a state of emergency,
 it’s not an emergency — it’s systemic failure by corporate commitments. Phyllis Njoroge impostor syndrome leader and product career coach

Having friends that only come to us to tell us everything’s great 24/7 can feel inauthentic. 

It can also demonstrate a lack of trust where we think we can’t be real with others.

When I started sharing about my experience with impostor syndrome on LinkedIn, 

I was nervous because the platform skews heavily towards people broadcasting their accomplishments. 

People log on here and see what great strides everyone else seems to be making while they’re struggling with feelings of fraudulence knowing the challenges in their own role 

or because they haven’t been able to secure a new role *yet.*

After I started posting my stories of the realities of internal dialogue, instead of being ostracized because of not fitting into the flood of posts about only success or “good PMs”, 

People from all over the world and widespread levels of seniority and experiences were asking me how they could overcome their impostor feelings. 

I was met with many people who resonated with my experience. 

In fact, they’ve actively asked me to publish more!

I witnessed just how isolating our fears can be because we’re all afraid to expose ourselves while everyone else around us seems to have it so perfectly together and handled. 

This is *exactly* the reason why we have to share our story.

I’m still getting comfortable sharing my stories with others but I continue to remind myself how necessary it is.

What’s a story someone posted that stuck with you?

Teams that punish questions don’t create excellence. They enable silenced mistakes. 👇

Growth requires the opposite of what your brain is wired for: certainty.

Confidence isn’t knowing everything.

It’s not panicking when you don’t.

Asking questions doesn't mean you're the stupidest person in the room; it usually means you're the only one brave enough to speak up. - Simon Sinek

If you want to buffer against judgment: 

Google it first.

Then search internal docs and messages.

Then ask.

After using all your resources, questions don’t expose incompetence. They expose leadership.

When you ask a question, you interrupt the fear loop.

You shift from “I’m supposed to know this”

to

“I’m willing to understand this.”

Your brain is wired for certainty.

But growth requires the opposite: entering spaces where you don’t know things yet.

Unfortunately, not everyone at every place will support a growth mindset. 

Some people have internalized shame so heavy they only perpetuate it onto others.

So if they respond with support, get into a stronger practice of asking even more.

If you’re not being supported, discern who else you can go to for help

Meanwhile, document you questions and what you learn along the way so that new hires can benefit from that information more efficiently!

Shame steals opportunities for clarity.

Curiosity gives them back.

Every time you ask a question, you’re teaching your brain that safety and learning can coexist.

Confidence is being able to trust yourself.

Not because you have all the answers,

but because you know what to do when, not if, you don’t.

The next time someone on your team asks you a question, point them to the right resource without shaming them for asking. Because very soon, you’ll have a question they can answer too.

You’re treating perfect like the bare minimum.
Perfect is not the bare minimum.
Impeccability is not the baseline.

Three distortions silently amplify impostor syndrome:
1. All-or-Nothing Thinking:
“If it’s not perfect, it’s a failure.”

2. Mind Reading:
“They think I’m incompetent.”

3. Discounting the Positive:
“That success didn’t count because it wasn’t big enough.”

These distortions create emotional noise - not truth.
Once you learn to label them, the thoughts lose their power.

Perfect is the absolute top.
A normal distribution graph, aka a bell curve, contains a peak in the middle since a majority of the instances of data cluster around the middle.

Perfection and complete failure are outliers.
Being perfect is statistically improbable.
Not achieving perfection doesn’t mean that you’ve fallen behind;
the masses aren’t perfect either.

Awareness is the first step toward grounding yourself again.

I struggle the most with All-or-Nothing Thinking. Which cognitive distortion shows up the most for you?

3 cognitive distortions Phyllis Njoroge impostor syndrome 

Denying people’s humanity is proven to make your teams less effective.

Over two years and 200 teams, the tech giant Google conducted a study to identify what makes successful teams that bring in more revenue and are rated more highly by executives across the company.

Google found that who is on a team matters less than HOW the team members interact.

So while hiring teams are scanning resumes for educational institutions and brand name work experience, we need to be scanning our teams for movement towards or against the safety for anyone to fail.

Sharing a sense of psychological safety is MORE critical than advanced degree holders or of specific personality traits to the success of a team.

- How confident are you that you won’t receive retaliation or criticism if you admit an error or make a mistake? Did you feel like you could ask what the goal was without the risk of sounding like you’re the only one out of the loop? Did you continue without clarifying anything to avoid being perceived as someone who is unaware?
- If no one is failing on your team, they’re either not telling you about it or only reaching for outcomes they’re 100% certain they can achieve.

Both are dangerous.

If you’re an executive like I am, then the modeling of openly discussing “failure” has to start with you.
I recently conducted performance reviews across my teams and two of the questions on my assessment template were:

What has been challenging?
What can we do to support your goals?

We can’t discuss performance without discussing the environment it operates in.

Let me know in the comments: what’s one thing you do to make your colleagues feel psychologically safe?

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