This review originally appeared on my blog at www.gimmethatbook.com.

Have you ever felt that you didn’t deserve that job you have? Or the grades in school, or praise from peers? Do you feel as if there was a mistake somehow, and you are not as good as others say you are? You are not alone; you may be suffering from Impostor Syndrome.

Many high-achieving women feel as if they got something they didn’t deserve, and are waiting to be “found out”. I picked up this book because I was recently promoted, and still couldn’t believe that I was the “one in charge” – and was sure once I was in the job for a little while, I would be “found out” to be incompetent. At times I felt like a child playing at being grown up.

The author was plagued by similar thoughts – instead of faking it til she made it, she decided to do research into this emerging phenomenon. She came to realize that many things come together to cause this self doubt in women: being “feminine” means not being “bossy”, interacting with men on an uneven playing field causes women to shrink from conflict and quietly overcompensate, plus the emotional makeup of the female means constructive criticism sounds like denigration.

It almost sounds like a given that being successful and a woman means you are in for a lot of self doubt. The author is aware of this, and offers many uplifting thoughts along the way. She takes every excuse that you have, every reason that cements your failure, and cancels them out with infallible stories and truths that help banish the deadly Impostor. Her tone is never judgemental, but encouraging.

Some of her anecdotes are eye opening. There was one comparing two managers who were given a project; one they knew nothing about. One shrunk back and said they couldn’t do it, the other got through it by convincing everyone that they had the background to handle the project. The difference? The first one was a woman, the second, a man. How many times have we heard a man bluster his way through things, and if he fails, he just laughs it off and tries again? Why can’t a woman do this?

The author encourages you to change your mindset by replacing crippling thoughts with positive ones, and offers activities at the end of every chapter to show you that no, you are not a fake. Her style is easy to read while getting her point across in a powerful way. I felt as if I had an older sister who put her arm around me and gave me a push in the right direction!

This is not a book you can skim through; I think it would work best by digesting the chapters slowly while doing a good deal of self reflection. Years of a certain thought pattern doesn’t go away easily, and the author acknowledges this. Everything takes practice. Thanks to this book, banishing the Impostor Syndrome is something I do every day!

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I have a business for coaching and mentoring first-time CEOs (blatant plug: www.greyareacoaching.com). I’m fascinated by one of the much-more-common-than-you-think anxieties that comes with the job: imposter syndrome. This excellent book examines the reasons why this may be the case and, in particular, why many successful and very capable women suffer from doubt. It also takes the reader through realisation and coping strategies and understanding how this can affect risk-taking and handling success. It does often tag the “why is it that successful women…” questions with “(and men)” as the assumption that men don’t suffer from the same anxieties is incorrect. What is interesting about everyone is that the symptoms can be hidden so well that the people who appear to be the most confident may be suffering the most. This book is well researched and constructed with many interesting case studies and examples. Practical, pragmatic and free from some of the more fanciful theorising that can appear in this sector. ( )

Not to my taste. Not applicable to my life. ( )

Great book on identifying the signs of imposter syndrome and some strategies to try to overcome those thoughts. ( )

This was very interesting book. Also, I realized I'm not suffering from this really badly! I especially liked the very practical advice from the author. In the end it was a bit repetitive, but to be fair, that was minor. Definitely a useful read! ( )