Learn to take ownership of your success, overcome self-doubt, and banish the thought patterns that undermine your ability to feel—and act—as bright and capable as others already know you are with this award-winning book by Valerie Young.
For the millions of professional women who experience the confidence-zapping “Impostor Syndrome,” author Valerie Young in her book The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Imposter Syndrome and How To Thrive In Spite of It, offers an empowering plan to overcome the needless self-doubt that keeps them from feeling as competent and deserving of their success as everyone else knows they are. In her decades of 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 likely to agonize over tiny mistakes and blame themselves for failure, 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.
Valerie Young has devoted her career to understanding women’s most deeply held beliefs about themselves and their success. In her decades of in-the-trenches research, she has uncovered the often surprising reasons why so many accomplished women experience this crushing self-doubt.
Author quotes
The impostor phenomenon became the impetus for my doctoral research, in which I explored the broader question of why so many clearly intelligent, capable women feel anything but.
Most of what I’ve learned about the impostor syndrome comes from over a quarter of a century of collective experience and wisdom gleaned from the men and women who’ve attended my workshops.
I realized that while talking is an important first step, you can’t share your way out of impostor syndrome. I knew I had a choice… I could let my own secret fears continue to stand between me and my goals, or I could channel my energy into trying to understand them.
About the author
Dr. Valerie Young is an author and internationally-known expert on the imposter syndrome. Her career-related tips have been cited in dozens of business and popular publications around the world and she’s been interviewed on countless programs including the BBC, Minnesota Public Radio, and Yahoo Finance. A former manager of strategic marketing at a Fortune 200 company herself, Valerie has shared her practical advice to tens of thousands of executives, managers, and professionals at these and many other companies in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Valerie’s insight and humor have made her a popular keynote and guest speaker at numerous conferences, association meetings, and entrepreneurial and executive development centers in the US and Canada.
Why LoA loves it….
In The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, author Valerie Young gives women some great insights on imposter syndrome and looks at why they are possibly holding themselves back when it comes to life and business. Combining insightful analysis with effective advice and anecdotes, she explains what the impostor syndrome is, why inner fraud fears are more common in women, and how you can recognize the way it manifests in your life. This is an interesting read for all those women who want to banish for good any of those nagging feelings of self doubt. --- Melanie Hawken, founder and editor-in-chief of Lionesses of Africa