Why AI is making capable workers feel like they’re falling behind - and what to do about it

Article appeard in the Herald Sun, 18 August 2026.

You’re driving into work and your palms start sweating. The AI tool you took weeks to master has changed. Your workmates seem light years ahead. Why does it take me so long to learn new things?

There is a thought quietly running through workplaces as AI changes jobs at breakneck speed: “I’m behind”.

In more than 20 years of coaching people, I have seen imposter phenomenon surface again and again. It appears as self-doubt, a loss of confidence or a nagging belief that you are no longer capable of doing the job.

What concerns me now is that AI is creating almost perfect conditions for those feelings to intensify. 

The arrival of the internet was a major workplace change, but it unfolded much more gradually. AI is producing an even bigger shift over a much shorter timeframe. People barely have time to become familiar with one tool before it changes again.

Imposter phenomenon is the inability to accurately assess the value that you bring to a situation. It becomes problematic when you believe you should be contributing more than you are, compare yourself with others and conclude that you don’t belong - or don’t deserve the position you hold. 

One of the biggest mistakes we make is confusing the discomfort of learning with evidence that we are no longer capable. Learning requires us to step into unfamiliar territory where we don’t yet have all the answers. That can feel uncomfortable, but discomfort is often a sign that we are learning - not that we don’t belong. 

Think about a five-year-old learning to read. We expect them to make mistakes, stumble over words and need repeated practice. We don’t conclude they don’t belong in the classroom because they haven’t mastered reading yet. But as adults, we often interpret the same discomfort of learning as evidence that we’re not capable.

As we become more aware of how much we still have to learn, feelings of self-doubt and overwhelm can actually increase. We can end up mistaking a lack of confidence for a lack of competence. 

Imposter phenomenon doesn’t always look like someone quietly worrying they’re not good enough. It can show up as perfectionism, procrastination or silence.

You might spend too long trying to perfect work because you’re terrified of getting it wrong, delay starting because you think you need to know more, or stay quiet in meetings because you assume everyone else understands the issue better than you.

Those behaviours can easily be mistaken for laziness, disengagement or incompetence. Your career can suffer - and so can your company, through lost productivity and valuable ideas.

The good news is there are some practical shifts that you can make today.

1. Recognise where you are on the learning curve. Confidence often develops alongside competence. Feeling overwhelmed by what you don’t know yet can be a normal part of learning - not proof you’re failing.
2. Turn comparison into curiosity. Instead of asking, “Why am I not as good as them?” ask, “What can I learn from them?” High performers can become evidence of what is possible rather than reminders of what we think we lack.
3. Recognise the value you already bring. Don’t just focus on gaps in your knowledge. Think about problems you solve, the relationships you build and the experience you contribute. Giving yourself appropriate credit isn’t arrogance - it’s accuracy. 

AI may change the skills your job requires, but it does not erase the value, judgement and experience you have already built. Feeling like a beginner again is uncomfortable. It’s not the same thing as becoming obsolete.