COMPOSURE

A corporate guide focuses on managing stress and demands.

Starting at a very early age, write Purmal, Epting, and Smith in this business manual, high performers develop “a motivational pattern…in which they constantly seek rewards from external factors, such as grades, accomplishments, titles, evaluations, and the opinions of others.” As this pattern of collecting “performance-rewards” builds momentum, it renders these high performers very good at doing the kinds of things that garner these accolades—and very vulnerable to any criticism along the way. The authors connect this pattern with “Self-Determination Theory,” which posits two kinds of motivation: internal and external. The vagaries of external validation can provoke the kind of imposter syndrome that plagues the authors’ narrative example, a woman named Sarah whom readers follow through different stages of her corporate career. This ongoing dramatization grows more complex and involving as Sarah faces obstacles and interpersonal conflicts. This is a wise choice on the part of the authors—it puts a human face on their many combined years of learning and expertise in all matters of business motivation. When high performers steel themselves against the lack of external validation, they can start to feel like frauds without the rewards. The authors offer a good deal of insights into the waste involved when that happens. “Being left unexamined and unresolved,” they write, “outdated and unnecessary Impostor Behaviors are certain to stand in the way and derail us from achieving our most inspiring visions of who we can become.” The authors’ understandings of the nuances of insecurity and the workings of entitlement are delivered with refreshing complexity.

An intelligent, wide-ranging examination of the ways leaders can be their own worst enemies.