Banksalad Highlights a Frontend Developer's Server Development Challenge Through a 'Fearless' Culture

Imposter Syndrome and the Value of Fearlessness

Ha Jo-eun, Tech Lead of Banksalad's Insurance Squad, came from a frontend background and experienced imposter syndrome—self-doubt and fear of failure—when faced with the situation of having to directly perform server development. However, based on Banksalad's core value of Fearlessness, she overcame this psychological barrier and completed the server development within the schedule.

A 3-Step Strategy for Overcoming Fear

Ha Jo-eun went through the following 3-step process to resolve her fear.

• Identifying the essence of the fear: Using the 5 Whys technique, she clarified that her fear was worry about colleagues' evaluations, and recognized that in a goal-oriented collaborative relationship, this was an unnecessary emotion.
• Being honest and opening up: By distinguishing between 'difficulty' and 'fear,' she honestly confessed to her manager about her lack of competency and the tight schedule, requesting practical help.
• Creating a routine: By registering the next day's tasks on her calendar every night in advance, and delegating or adjusting work according to priority, she reduced her sense of being overwhelmed.

Organizational Support and Results

The Engineering Foundation team provided Go language onboarding documentation and library code, and the squad secured time and extended trust so that Ha Jo-eun could focus on server development. Thanks to this support, Ha Jo-eun gained psychological safety—as if wearing skateboard protective gear—which allowed her to boldly attempt the challenge, and she ultimately regained confidence as a Tech Lead.