Latest / Harvard Business Review
Lean Into Imposter Syndrome, Don't Yield to It
Lean Into Imposter Syndrome, Don't Give In to It
5 Aug 2025
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Why do ambitious “strivers” so often feel they haven’t truly earned their success? Harvard behavioral social scientist and author of "The Happiness Files" Arthur C. Brooks argues that self-doubt is usually evidence of healthy humility—not incompetence—and a clear contrast to the overconfidence of “dark-triad” personalities. Brooks shows executives how to reframe imposter feelings as diagnostic feedback, then “lean in without giving in” by targeting the specific skills and knowledge gaps those feelings reveal, turning discomfort…
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