One of our Head of Technical’s talks recently focused on how common imposter syndrome is in agency & commerce work.
Which makes a lot of sense. Most people in Magento, marketing, or development spend a huge part of their jobs dealing with stuff they’ve never seen before. Platforms change constantly, client expectations are high, launches are stressful, and when something breaks, it usually breaks loudly.
There’s a weird assumption we hear about people in tech that experienced people eventually evolve into calm, all-knowing beings who never panic when errors happen.
Spoiler alert, they don’t.
You just get better at hiding the panic and knowing what to do once the initial fear has gone.
One part of the talk looked at what actually happens in your brain when the pressure kicks in. When you deal with stress, mental health conditions like anxiety, PTSD, and depression sometimes join the party, explaining a lot of those moments where:
- The deployment goes wrong
- The client deletes something important
- The launch wobbles
And your brain immediately jumps to
- “I’m useless.”
- “They’re going to realise I can't do this.”
- “Everyone knows more than me.”
- “Maybe I should just quit and become a goat farmer.”
The key to the talk, though, was that there’s no magical cure to imposter syndrome. You can only learn to deal with it.
- Breathe
- Step away from the desk
- Sleep on it (if time allows)
- Lean on your team
- Stop isolating yourself when you’re stressed
- And maybe don’t try solving production issues while running entirely on caffeine. Eat something!
The industry can sometimes make it feel like everyone else is effortlessly shipping perfect work, scaling brands overnight, fixing every bug instantly, and understanding every new platform update the second it drops. But some of us (most of us) are just fixing and learning all at the same time.
The important bit for us is that conversations like this shouldn’t just exist in talks or awareness months.
If people are constantly overwhelmed, stressed or doubting themselves at work, the answer usually isn’t “be more resilient”. Most of the time, it’s process, communication, unclear expectations or pressure that’s been normalised for too long.
That’s why we try to build systems internally that reduce noise, remove ambiguity and make work feel more manageable day-to-day.
We’re not perfect, but we’ve built in systems that reduce pressure, remove ambiguity, and help people think clearly while they work.
Things we actually do
Here’s a couple of our Marketing Director’s (Chris Munday) most important things we do:
Manual of Me: Everyone shares how they work best, how they like feedback, and what helps them perform. It removes guesswork and reduces friction in collaboration.
NoHello rule: No vague “hi, got a sec?” messages. Just ask the question. It keeps communication clear and reduces unnecessary mental load.
PDPs and quarterly reviews: Clear personal goals, regular check-ins, and space to talk openly about progress, blockers, and development.
Daily stand-up: A quick morning reset covering what was done, what’s next, what might get in the way, and anything else the team needs to know.
Boundaries built into work: Overtime is discouraged. If work doesn’t fit within contracted hours, it’s usually a process issue, not a personal one. We don’t expect Slack or emails outside working hours unless it’s urgent.
Rest is part of the system: Birthday off, plus an extra holiday added each year you’re with the company. Rest isn’t treated as a reward for burnout; it’s built in from day one.
Recognition and culture: A dedicated Kudos channel means wins, big or small, get shared properly. We also try to actively celebrate success in real life, whether that’s an early finish, a pint, or a team meal. We can always do more here, but it’s part of the intention.
Blame processes, not people: When something goes wrong, the focus is on fixing the system, not pointing at individuals. Most issues come from process gaps, and the goal is to learn and improve, not assign fault.
How our team supports their own mental health:
Charlie Archer - Strong on stepping away when needed. Her view is simple: if you’re too stressed to see clearly, pushing harder doesn’t help anyone.
Daniel Mulley - Brings energy into the office, and openly recognises that energy affects others too. There’s a running joke about him and Charlie needing separation at times, which says a lot about how comfortable the team is being honest about dynamics.
Paul Gray - Uses structure and routine to stay balanced. The gym before work is a key reset for focus and mindset. Hybrid working also plays a big role, giving back commuting time and creating more space for family life, including school runs.
Chris Munday - Strong believer in “eat the frog” thinking. Do the hard thing first so it doesn’t sit in your head all day.
Holly Payne - Believes, annoyingly, exercise really does do it. After a not-so-easy start to the year, they really needed the push to feel better, so they started getting up an hour earlier and going to the gym. Benefits include better mental health, an inflated ego & being generally hench.
In Conclusion…
We’re definitely not perfect at this, but the ecommerce and agency world gets a lot healthier when people stop pretending they’re fine all the time.
Especially in tech. Especially in agency life. Especially in Magento.
If you work in development, ecommerce or marketing and this sounded painfully familiar, you’re probably not alone.
