The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It Book

In her decades of in-the-trenches research on women's self-limiting feelings and beliefs about themselves and their success, Valerie Young has uncovered the often surprising reasons why so many accomplished women feel as though they are "faking it"--impostors in their own lives and careers. While the impostor syndrome is not unique to women, they are more apt to agonize over tiny mistakes, see even constructive criticism as evidence of their shortcomings, and chalk up their accomplishments to luck rather than skill. When they do succeed, they think, "Phew, I fooled 'em again." Perpetually waiting to be "unmasked" doesn't just drain a woman's energy and confidence, it can make her more risk averse and less self-promoting than her male peers, which can hurt her future success. In The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, these women finally have a solution: important insight into why fraud fears are more common in women combined with practical ways to banish the thought patterns that undermine their ability to feel--and act--as bright and capable as they truly are.Read More