Why Even Top CEO's Will Feel Like Impostors When They Step Into Their New Roles

When does impostor syndrome visit you? Impostor Syndrome visits me when I seem to be delivering subpar results on what is already an experts-only space to work in.

Think about it and see if the following doesn’t also happen with you.

I'm doing work that only experts know how to do well. I'm doing it as best as I’ve known how. There's no doubt about it. Obviously, I've also well done it before and for a long time.

In other words, I'm an expert on the subject because I’ve been in practice for decades and yielded the results this expertise enables.

So, why at a given moment, if results start turning subpart, and I'm working on figuring out why, does taking on that challenge suddenly become an opportunity for self-doubt to creep in and for me to start feeling like an impostor?

Why should that happen if only another expert would be able not simply to help me with this experts-only difficulty but even to understand it along with me? Yet here comes Impostor Syndrome to plague my confidence with lies:

"Are you really an expert, after all?”

“Experts don't get stuck like you have.”

“Don’t you see people who really know their stuff realize that you’re floundering?”

“Why are you trying to seem like you know what you’re doing, when you’re failing instead?”

And so it goes… When you listen to self-doubt rather than rely on your proven track record, you will mentally undermine yourself.

It will be you and no one else who will think that you're an impostor. You will self-defeat.

Well, this is about to happen to many CEO's, who have chosen to go fractional or become solo practitioners, which is something they’re skilled to turn into, yet will be challenged to do while facing impostor syndrome.

If they're normal people, they will struggle with impostor syndrome just like anybody else.

And there is a lesson here for you to learn from these so-far stellar performers, who reached the top of the corporate climb only now to ditch it for something they deem is better, yet may not be fully aware requires a different mindset to bridge their gap between having been top dog versus now becoming temp dog.

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Why Your CEO Might Be Leaving—and Why You Should Too

First, let’s address the elephant in the room. It’s no secret: corporate America is undergoing a seismic shift.

Record-breaking numbers of CEO's are leaving their roles, and this isn’t just a one-off anomaly—it’s a trend years in the making.

In 2024 alone, nearly 2,000 chief executives exited their companies, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., as reported by Zero Hedge. For context, that’s a 16% increase over 2023’s record-breaking numbers.

But here’s the twist: these aren’t simply retirements or lateral moves.

Many of these executives are trading their corporate titles for something entirely different: independence.

They’re opting out of traditional work structures in favor of fractional executive roles, consulting gigs, and solopreneurship.

The questions are: 1) What do they know that you don’t? and 2) What do I know that they don’t?

Let’s dive into why this is happening and how you can take inspiration from their decisions to create a path of your own, especially if you take into consideration what I know that they yet do not know.

The Great CEO Exodus: Why Are They Leaving?

Even at the top, leaders are not immune to bureaucracy and burnout.

CEO's, once the arbiters of their company’s direction, are increasingly constrained by red tape, board oversight, and shareholder demands.

According to Andrew Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, "Economic uncertainty tends to drive leadership decisions,” particularly as companies face new challenges like cost-cutting and operational pivots.

The takeaway for you: If even the top brass can’t escape bureaucracy, what’s stopping you from seeking autonomy and breaking free from the grind?

Many departing CEO's report they’re after a search for purpose. Their roles no longer align with their personal values.

Instead of managing sprawling organizations, they’re choosing to dedicate their time to purposeful, high-impact work—often in niche consulting or leadership advisory roles.

The takeaway for you: Aligned your current work with your values. If purpose-driven work appeals to you, solopreneurship may be the only option that offers you a way to design a career around what matters most if the companies willing to hire you won’t grant you that possibility.

A notable trend among departing CEO's is their move away from broad managerial roles toward focused, specialist positions – from generalists to specialists.

Whether it’s as fractional executives or consultants, they’re shifting from administration-heavy roles to expert-driven, flexible work.

The takeaway for you: Solopreneurship allows you to hone in on your expertise rather than spending your days managing up and down the corporate ladder.

But if you’re already a specialist, solopreneurship allows you to become a generalist who has built-in expertise in a hyperspecialized area as your core strength. It’s flexible going in one direction or the other. Is your employer that flexible with you? Because the market is.

Economic Drivers: Why the Market Favors Independence

It’s not just personal motives driving this trend—the economy is actively rewarding flexibility.

Here’s how the current landscape is shaping CEO exits and opening doors for independent professionals like you:

A Shift Toward Fractional Roles

As of 2024, 13% of CEO replacements are interim or fractional appointments, up from 7% the year prior, per Challenger, Gray & Christmas. This reflects a growing demand for flexible leadership solutions in times of uncertainty.

But fractional work isn’t just for CEO's. Companies are increasingly open to hiring specialized talent for short-term, high-value projects, to keep them competitive while becoming nimble, thereby creating opportunities for solopreneurs to gain corporate contracts.

Cost Cutting in Lean Times

Organizations are under pressure to streamline costs, and fractional executives or solo consultants provide an ideal solution—expertise without the overhead of full-time employment.

In a lean economy, your specialized skills could become a valuable resource for businesses looking to maximize ROI, provided you know how to present yourself as a solution and not as an employee candidate.

Technological Transformation

Rapid advancements in A.I. and automation are driving businesses to rethink their operations.

Executives who are leaving traditional roles to position themselves as experts in navigating this transition are taking advantage of the growing need for adaptability that they already know from the very top of the corporate totem pole is the future of corporate management.

As this dramatic technology disrupts industries, therefore, your becoming agile and independent will position you as a problem-solver who businesses cannot ignore, but only if you transform yourself into that kind of solopreneur.

How to Follow in Your CEO’s Footsteps

If the leaders of your company are leaving, what’s stopping you from doing the same?

Here’s how to create your own solo practitioner’s exit strategy inspired by the world’s top executives:

1. Leverage Your Network: Like CEO's transitioning into advisory roles, you too can tap into your existing contacts. Many opportunities for solopreneurs come from relationships that you’ve already built over the years as a specialist in your field.
2. Start Small: CEO's don’t leap into solopreneurship overnight. Many begin with fractional roles or consulting gigs, building their portfolio while transitioning away from traditional work.
3. Define Your Value: Former CEO's succeed by selling their expertise and results. You don’t need their title to do the same. Focus on what makes you unique and how your skills solve specific problems. Remember that only another expert like you can even come to understand what you do and whether you’re the real deal or actually a fraud.
4. Build Your Brand: Starting with your personal branding is critical. Whether through thought leadership on LinkedIn, a polished portfolio, or word-of-mouth referrals, your reputation is your greatest asset. But then, once your brand is in place, you need systems to leverage it to its fullest extent. Consider Snap-in-Place Marketing Systems to help you go solo in the most effective way.

A Movement Worth Watching

The numbers don’t lie: corporate leadership is changing, and independence is the new aspiration from senior management down.

From burnout to bureaucracy, record-breaking CEO exits reflect a deeper dissatisfaction with traditional structures and likely the end of an era of a certain type of corporate leadership.

Yet these same challenges are creating opportunities for solopreneurs and independent professionals. So here’s the question: if the most powerful people in your organization are leaving to pursue flexibility, purpose, and autonomy, why aren’t you?

Don’t think you’re at a disadvantage. It takes a solopreneur to know what it takes to become a solopreneur. And these departing CEO’s don’t yet know what being a solopreneur requires.

The moment you do, that’s when you have an advantage even over a former CEO. Talk about leveling out the field!

It’s not just about leaving a job. Anybody can do that all along the totem pole. It’s about stepping into a future that works on your terms as you build your solo practitioner’s sailing vessel to take helm control over. That is, you become captain. You become CEO over your own ship.

If you didn’t know, now you do:? CEO's are paving the way out, but they don’t know how to become CEO's of their personal ship yet.

Now it’s your turn to follow and beat them at that game, while they’re unexpectedly experiencing solo practitioner impostor syndrome.