We’ve all seen the character in a movie who is an obvious charlatan, but who rides into town in a cloud of credentials, references, and degrees, all of which are fake but work anyway. Or maybe we’ve met them in real life - the “just because I say so” professors, the bosses or executives who rely on titles to stifle dissent. This happens in science, too - new paradigms often have to wait for the “old guard” to die off before they can be accepted. “Oh, you don’t have a Nobel prize? Well, I do. That quantum stuff is just silly”
One enormous occupational hazard of becoming more successful is that you will believe your own press, and stop hearing important news about the world. The title on your door is so impressive! How can this entry level engineer actually be right about a giant risk in your code? You’d know, wouldn’t you? After all, you have the title!
Even worse than believing that about yourself is convincing others around you to believe it too. This results in some very bad effects - you won’t get good input, or any input at all. Your organization gets more brittle, blind spots take on the force of legislation.
One cure for this is to be very deliberately self-deprecating. I have a bit of a potty mouth - not the best habit, but it helps signal that I don’t take myself too seriously. Not being afraid to make fun of yourself (“I can’t believe how dumb that was”), or correct yourself in public is good too. Go out of your way to thank people who push back and give feedback. Don’t be afraid to show vulnerability.
Make it clear that you are happy to debate things on technical terms - one of the smartest, most successful engineers I know will debate almost anything with almost anyone, on purely technical terms, with no negative consequences as long as the debate is in good faith.
It’s very tempting to get by on the basis of past performance, or external credentials. But it’s much healthier to try to always stand on the value of your work alone. It’s scary - you might have a bad day, everyone does - but in the end, the closer you can get to that authentic place, the more effective you can be as a leader.