Impostor Syndrome is a big topic which can cover a vast domain. In this book, the focus is primarily on the business world and how employees and managers at all levels often struggle to find the defining line between being themselves and being who they believe others want them to be. Sadly, many end up choosing the latter.
I hope the book generates good dialogue and debate about how authentic leadership can and does make a difference, both to individuals and to organisations. It is important that Impostor Syndrome be normalised, as an important first step to diminishing its potency. Executives, managers and boards can play a key role in this, by learning and modelling behaviour that counters the syndrome, and by creating a positive and open environment where there is no need for people to feel like impostors. Organisations that create the conditions for authentic leadership to thrive, can then make it easier for all employees to bring the ‘whole person’ to work.
Contents of The Impostor Syndrome
1. Where does the term ‘Impostor Syndrome’ come from? 2. What is Impostor Syndrome all about? 3. The focus of this book 4. Unplugged 5. Your fingerprint 6. My fingerprint 7. Inner voices 8. Impostor Syndrome: What are the symptoms? 9. What the symptoms of Impostor Syndrome tell us 10. Four profiles of Impostor Syndrome 11. Frames: Getting at the root cause of Impostor Syndrome 12. Authenticity: Why authentic leadership matters 13. What authentic leadership looks like in business 14. Vulnerability: The wizard behind the curtain 15. Beating Impostor Syndrome 16. What companies can do about Impostor Syndrome 17. The final frame 18. Finding your fingerprint
