Your Unstoppable Greatness: Break Free from Impostor Syndrome, Cultivate Your Agency, and Achieve Your Ultimate Career Goals

by Lisa Orbï-Austin PhD, Richard Orbï-Austin PhD

Overview

Discover how to overcome fear, build confidence in who you are, and celebrate your accomplishments through the interactive activities and life-changing advice in this easy-to-use, guided workbook.

Have you ever felt stuck at your job? Or burned out due to a toxic work environment When you struggle with Impostor Syndrome and feel like a fraud, it can become easy to get trapped into an unhealthy cycle in your career and lose focus of your goals. Taking this next step in overcoming your impostor syndrome will encourage you to feel confident about your accomplishments, skills, and abilities in order to achieve a successful life.

Your Unstoppable Greatness will give you the tools you need to recognize your potential, connect to your agency and create the career path you always wanted. With the help of this interactive workbook, you’ll find research- and therapy-backed exercises, prompts, and activities to help you:

Identify toxic work cultures
Redefine your success
Conquer perfectionism
Feel empowered in your agency
Construct your dream career
And so much more!

Overcoming impostor syndrome is a journey. Take the next step to achieve a happier, more fulfilling career.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646044078
Publisher:	Ulysses Press
Publication date:	12/06/2022
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin is a licensed psychologist, executive coach, and organizational consultant. Her views about career management and advancement are regularly sought by the media, and she has appeared in various outlets, such as the New York Times, Forbes, NBC News, Refinery29, and Insight Into Diversity. Dr. Orbé-Austin received her bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College, her master’s degree in counseling psychology from Boston College, and her PhD in counseling psychology from Columbia University.

Dr. Richard Orbé-Austin is a psychologist and a partner of Dynamic Transitions Psychological Consulting, LLP, a career and executive coaching consultancy in New York City. Dr. Orbé-Austin’s opinions and writings have appeared in a variety of publications, including Forbes, Fast Company, Diversity Executive, and ThriveGlobal. He earned his PhD in counseling psychology from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education and his bachelor's degree in psychology from NYU.

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

Part 1 Agency 10

Chapter 1 (Re)Envisioning the Dream 11

Breaking the Impostor Syndrome Cycle 12

Reassessing Organizational Loyalty 14

Codependency: Detaching from Others' Approval 19

Taking Care of Your Inner Child 24

Why Your Dreams Are Important 27

Chapter 2 Protecting the Dream 30

Introducing the New You: Increasing Agency 30

Pushing Back When the System Says "No" 36

Identifying a Toxic System 39

Sustaining Agency in a Toxic System 44

Intentionally Celebrating You-Enjoying Your Joy 46

Chapter 3 Conquering Burnout and Perfectionism 48

Breaking Free of Burnout 48

Giving Up Perfectionism 63

Part 2 Assessment 69

Chapter 4 Acknowledging Your First System 70

Family Systems 70

The Container and How to Break It 85

Chapter 5 Managing Toxic Cultures 88

Identifying Elements of Toxic Work Cultures 88

Your Options When Dealing with a Toxic Work Culture 95

Chapter 6 Identifying Toxic Leadership 98

Early Experiences of Parenting Styles and Authority 98

Leadership Redefined 104

Authority Relationship Types 106

Five Archetypes of Toxic Leaders 107

Performance Review Processes 112

Chapter 7 Protecting Your Identity 116

The Double Impact of Impostor Syndrome 119

Other Consequences for Marginalized Groups 121

Part 3 Actualization 128

Chapter 8 Belonging in Healthy Systems 129

Psychological Safety 131

Perfectionism and Healthy Belonging 135

Vulnerability 136

Relational Resilience 137

Chapter 9 Conquering Leadership Pitfalls 140

Micromanaging 141

Delegating Poorly 142

Modeling Overwork 145

Agonizing over Mistakes 146

Overlooking Celebratory Moments 149

Minimizing Performance and Contribution 151

Underestimating Your Value 152

Dealing With Negative Stereotypes 154

Perpetuating the Myth of Executive Presence 156

Chapter 10 Developing Healthy Leadership 158

Creating Psychological Safety 158

Building Your Team 163

Conclusion: Your Unstoppable Greatness 169

Notes 171

Acknowledgments 175

About the Authors 176

Editorial Reviews

With Your Unstoppable Greatness, Lisa and Richard Orbe Austin have created an essential toolkit to help confront and ultimately, overcome imposter syndrome. They draw from data, research and their own experience coaching clients to help readers identify toxic cultures, understand how patterns in their own interpersonal relationships play out at work, and address those patterns so they can strengthen their relationships with their colleagues and with themselves.

LinkedIn - Jessi Hempel

Applause for Drs. Lisa and Richard Orbe-Austin’s latest work, Your Unstoppable Greatness: Break Free from Imposter Syndrome, Cultivate Your Agency, and Achieve Your Ultimate Career Goals! The volume is a very readable treasure trove of wisdom which guides the reader in applying psychological truth – taken from the authors’ professional practice and expertise – to address stumbling blocks to career success. Unlike many volumes which do not offer the “how to” in achieving the reader's goals, Your Unstoppable Greatness acts as both commentary and a workbook that uses practical techniques and tools – case studies, reflection exercises, and a wide range of helpful tips and key takeaways – to assist the reader in understanding Imposter Syndrome’s impact and the workplace dynamics that trigger it. Your Unstoppable Greatness is the right resource at the right time (now!) when so many are searching for the keys to personal and professional satisfaction. It will help you to recognize and address the beliefs and behaviors that may be blocking the success that you desire and deserve – add it to your library today!

Dr. Corlisse Thomas

"Relying on insightful prose, moving case studies, and thoughtful exercises, Drs. Lisa and Richard Orbé-Austin have crafted an invaluable guide for anyone seeking a rich, fulfilling career. With kind-heartedness and care, they expertly highlight the pitfalls of work culture we need to be mindful of as we move toward the greatness we all deserve. A must-read.”

author of The Legacy of Jim Crow, co-author of Nubia: The Awakening - Clarence A. Haynes

Your Unstoppable Greatness is the "Green Book" to master the career journey challenges of these times. Imposter syndrome is our modern-day endemic that in the words of James Baldwin impacts those of us who are systematically, "marginalized." This is the book you carry with you throughout your career. YUG is the guide and ride full of sharp wit, heartfelt wisdom, real-world exercises and innovative strategies that "honors your greatness and dreams." I will be purchasing copies for my loved ones. Buckle up!

Allen McFarlane

In Your Unstoppable Greatness, Lisa and Richard Orbe-Austin brilliantly use their clinical insights as licensed psychologists, combined with years of working with companies, associations, and universities, to provide an accessible book aimed at helping individuals combat their impostor feelings to reach their highest potential. Grounded in sound psychological principles and insights (e.g., the impact of family codependency dynamics, the importance of self-care) and using the 3 A’s model (agency, assessment, and actualization), the book provides an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide for achieving one’s dreams by learning how to identify systems, organizations and toxic work environments that serve to reinforce feelings of impostorism. The case studies and the exercises in the book are among the most helpful that I’ve encountered. Perhaps the best compliment I can give is that I found the exercises to be personally and professionally beneficial! I wish this book had been available during my previous talks because I would have recommended it as a must-have resource. Suffice it to say that I will now be strongly recommending this book to anyone struggling to overcome their impostor feelings!

Kevin Cokley