Dr. Valerie Young Biography:

Dr. Valerie Young is an internationally-recognized expert on impostor syndrome. She’s brought her humorous yet highly practical approach to impostor feelings to such diverse organizations as Boeing, Facebook, BP, Intel, Chrysler, Apple, Microsoft, McDonald’s, Emerson, IBM, Merck, Ernst & Young, Proctor & Gamble, Raymond James, McDonalds-Europe, the Space Telescope Science Institute, UK College of Policing, Society of Women Engineers, Women in Manufacturing, Harvard, MIT, Stanford and 85 other universities in the US, Canada, and Japan.

Valerie’s advice has been cited in popular business outlets around the world including Yahoo Financial News, CNN Money, BBC radio, Time, The Wall Street Journal, USA Weekend, O magazine, Entrepreneur, Inc. Science, Elle, Redbook, Woman’s Day, The Chicago Tribune, The Globe and Mail, and The Sydney Morning.

Her award-winning book The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It (Crown Business) is available in five languages and useful for both men and women.

How to Feel as Bright and Capable as They "Think" You Are: Why Capable People Suffer from Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It

The actor Mike Myers once said, “At any time, I still expect that the no-talent police will come and arrest me.” He’s not alone. Millions of people around the world — from senior leaders to bright college students to Oscar winners — secretly worry they’re not as bright and capable as other people “think” they are. It’s called the impostor syndrome and it hurts individuals and the bottom line. Fortunately, there is a cure.

In this lively and surprisingly upbeat interactive talk you’ll discover:

  • Why the impostor syndrome is not “just low self-esteem.”
  • Creative ways “impostors” discount or minimize their success.
  • Perfectly good reasons why smart people feel like frauds.
  • How your personal “Competence Type” may be setting you (or your employees) up to fall short.
  • Procrastination, workaholism, and other unconscious coping strategies “impostors” use to avoid being found out.
  • The high cost of the impostor syndrome to organizations.
  • Why women may be both more susceptible to and held back by impostor feelings.
  • The critically important difference between people who feel like impostors and those who don’t – and why it matters.
  • Three practical, immediately usable strategies to deal with impostor syndrome for yourself or your employees.

You’ll walk away with practical, immediately usable strategies to help yourself, your employees, and even your children to interrupt the impostor syndrome and end needless self-doubt.