Table of Contents
- Impostor syndrome’s mission: Keep You Small
- 5 power moves to silence your impostor syndrome
- Power move #1: Feel your feelings
- Power move #2: Flex your muscles
- Power move #3: Find your crew
- Power move #4: Develop your learning habit
- Power move #5: Celebrate your wins
- Advanced tactics for the overachievers
- 1/ The advisor approach
- 2/ The teaching method
- 3/ The transparency technique
- When impostor syndrome actually helps
- ✅ Signs your impostor syndrome is actually healthy:
- ❌ Signs it's become toxic:
- Your action plan: From impostor to impact
- From UX designer to UX manager
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Read time: under 9 minutes
Impostor syndrome’s mission: Keep You Small
One day, you’re designing screens. Next, you’re in back-to-back meetings, wondering if your calendar is now your job.
Welcome to UX management, where the problems are messier, the metrics fuzzier, and the Figma files no longer your main source of stress.
Here’s the part they don’t tell you: When you become a manager, impostor syndrome doesn’t go away, it levels up.
You’re not alone. The best managers feel this way too, they’ve just built systems to deal with it. That’s what this guide is for.
I’m not going to "manifest" impostor syndrome away. I’m going to design against it, with five practical, no-BS power moves that help you feel more grounded, capable, and confident in your role.
5 power moves to silence your impostor syndrome
You’re here because that little voice in your head won’t shut up, and you’re ready to do something about it. So let’s get tactical. Here are five real-world power moves you can do:
Power move #1: Feel your feelings
The strategy: Stop pretending you're fine and acknowledge the impostor syndrome head-on.
Remember when you learned about user research? The first rule is to observe and acknowledge what's actually happening, not what you wish was happening.
Same applies here.
Your brain is doing exactly what it's designed to do: Keep you safe by highlighting potential threats. In this case, the threat is "What if I suck at this and everyone finds out?"
Pro tip: Set a daily 5-minute "feelings check-in" in your calendar.
Literally. Ask yourself: "What am I feeling anxious about today?" Write it down. Don't solve it, just acknowledge it.
Power move #2: Flex your muscles
The strategy: Build a "brag document" that reminds you why you're actually qualified.
You didn't get promoted because your manager threw a dart at a board. You got promoted because you demonstrated skills, delivered results, and showed potential.
But our brains are jerks. They remember every mistake in 4K detail while filing achievements under "probably just luck."
The evidence collection method:
- List problems you solved that others couldn't
- Document successful project outcomes you led
- Screenshot positive feedback from team members
- Note improvements in team performance since your promotion
Pro tip: Create a weekly "wins inventory." Every Friday, write down three things you accomplished that week. It could be shipping a feature, helping a teammate, or making a tough decision.
Keep this list and review it whenever impostor syndrome hits.
Power move #3: Find your crew
The strategy: Build a network of fellow UX managers who get it.
Management is lonely. Especially when you're caught between your team (who see you as "the boss") and your boss (who expects you to figure it out).
You need people who understand that managing designers is like herding cats who have strong opinions about typography.
Pro tip: Join at least one UX management community. Start with:
- Local UX meetups with management tracks
- LinkedIn groups like "UX Management Network"
- Designer Hangout Slack (has a management channel)
Set a goal to have one meaningful conversation with another UX manager every month.
The power of peer learning:
Schedule monthly "manager coffee chats" with peers from other companies. Share challenges, not just successes. You'll quickly realize everyone is making it up as they go along.
Want to learn more about UX Management?
Check out UX Management Playbook — made for first-time managers building healthier and happier design teams.
Power move #4: Develop your learning habit
The strategy: Transform your knowledge gaps from sources of shame into opportunities for growth.
New managers often think they should know everything. Spoiler alert: Nobody does.
The best managers aren't the ones with all the answers. They're the ones who know how to find answers and aren't afraid to say "I don't know, but I'll find out."
The manager's learning stack:
- UX Management: "Design Better" podcast by Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter
- Team Dynamics: "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni
- Decision Making: "Decisive" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
- Leadership: "Radical Candor" by Kim Scott
Pro tip: Create a "learning pipeline" with three categories:
- Immediate needs (skills you need this month)
- Growth opportunities (skills for next quarter)
- Future vision (skills for where you want to be in a year)
Dedicate 30 minutes weekly to learning in each category.
Power move #5: Celebrate your wins
The strategy: Create systems to acknowledge and amplify your successes, no matter how small.
Designers are trained to see problems. It's our superpower and our curse. We spot every pixel that's off, every flow that could be smoother, every interaction that needs work.
But when you become a manager, this problem-focused mindset can destroy your confidence. You'll see every team friction, every unmet goal, every communication breakdown—and blame yourself for all of it.
Win-tracking categories for UX managers:
- Process improvement: You streamlined a workflow
- Design impact: Your team's work improved user metrics
- Culture building: You helped create a better team dynamic
- Team development: Someone on your team learned a new skill
- Stakeholder management: You successfully navigated a difficult conversation
Pro tip: Implement the "Three-Win Friday" ritual. Every Friday, write down:
- One team win (something your team accomplished)
- One personal win (something you did well as a manager)
- One learning win (something you figured out or improved)
This keeps your momentum visible, your mindset positive, and your growth undeniable.
Advanced tactics for the overachievers
So, you’ve survived your first few quarters as a UX manager.
You’ve got your 1:1s humming, your team isn’t in chaos, and you’ve stopped waking up at 3 am wondering if you accidentally deleted the roadmap.
Now what? It’s time to level up.
These are the boss-level cheat codes senior design leaders use to coach smarter, build trust faster, and scale their impact without burning out.
Let’s get to it.
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1/ The advisor approach
Adopt the mindset of a consultant rather than a know-it-all boss.
Senior leaders don’t micromanage; they ask dangerous questions. The kind that makes people stop, think, and level up.
Instead of “Let’s do it this way,” try:
- “What do you think is the smartest move here?”
- “What’s something I’m not seeing but should be?”
Power move: Introduce a “Decision Autopsy” in post-mortems:
- What did we decide?
- Why?
- Would we do it again, or should we burn it with fire?
This creates a feedback loop smarter than most product roadmaps.
2/ The teaching method
Curiosity: still undefeated.
You’re not going to know all the answers. And that’s great, because it gives your team permission to figure stuff out in public.
Try this next time you're stuck:
- "I'm not sure about this either. Let's figure it out together.”
Instant psychological safety. Zero ego. Maximum momentum.
Pro move: Host a monthly “Fail & Learn” Happy Hour. One slip-up, one lesson, one laugh. Normalize messing up and leveling up.
Bonus points if you bring snacks. People will actually show up.
3/ The transparency technique
You don’t need to pretend you’re running the perfect leadership OS. Show people you’re still debugging your own code.
Say things like:
- “I’m working on not jumping in during critiques. If I do, call me out.”
- “I tend to take on too much. If I’m in your lane, kick me out.”
This builds trust faster than any offsite.
Pro move: Send a quarterly “Manager Release Notes” to your team:
- What I’m working on
- What I sucked at
- What I’m improving
- Where I need help
Yes, it feels awkward. But it also models growth better than any LinkedIn humblebrag.
Want to learn more about UX Management?
Check out UX Management Playbook — made for first-time managers building healthier and happier design teams.
When impostor syndrome actually helps
Sometimes impostor syndrome is your friend.
It keeps you humble. It makes you listen more. It prevents you from becoming that manager who thinks they know everything and stops learning.
The goal isn't to eliminate impostor syndrome completely. The goal is to manage it so it doesn't manage you.
✅ Signs your impostor syndrome is actually healthy:
- It makes you seek feedback actively
- It reminds you to appreciate your team's expertise
- It keeps you curious about better ways to do things
- It motivates you to prepare thoroughly for important meetings
❌ Signs it's become toxic:
- You avoid making any decisions
- You constantly apologize for your presence
- You micromanage because you don't trust your judgment
- You turn down opportunities because you feel "not ready"
Your action plan: From impostor to impact
Here's your 30-day roadmap to tackle imposter syndrome:
Week 1: Awareness
- Start daily feeling check-ins
- Begin building your brag document
- Identify one management community to join
Week 2: Connection
- Schedule first "Three-Win Friday" session
- Pick one management resource to start learning from
- Reach out to one fellow UX manager for coffee/virtual chat
Week 3: Practice
- Share a win with your manager or mentor
- Implement one new management technique
- Ask your team for feedback on your management style
Week 4: Reflection
- Review your wins from the month
- Identify your biggest management learning
- Set goals for continued growth
📍 Remember: The fact that you care enough about being a good manager to read this far proves you're not an impostor. You're a professional who wants to do right by your team.
From UX designer to UX manager
Getting promoted to UX manager is like being handed a complex design problem with no brief, unclear success metrics, and a bunch of stakeholders who all have different opinions about the solution. In other words, it's exactly what you've been training for your entire design career.
The managers who pretend they have it all figured out are usually the ones making the worst decisions. The managers who acknowledge their uncertainty and work systematically to address it are building the kind of teams that ship great products and enjoy doing it.
Your team doesn't need a perfect manager. They need an authentic one who cares enough to keep getting better. And if you've read this far, you're already proving you're that kind of manager.
Now go forth and manage with confidence, even when you don't feel confident yet. Especially then.
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