The Empress Has No Clothes

It is not uncommon for successful people to feel that they are imposters. They often think they are the only ones who feel this way, but this could not be further from the truth. In The Empress Has No Clothes, Joyce M. Roché and Alexander Kopelman discuss the impostor syndrome in detail in hopes of helping people manage and conquer their fears. They explore the complex reasons why the syndrome exists and the situations that trigger it in different people.

To learn more, please visit http://www.bizsum.com/summaries/empress-no-clothes

Do Cool Sh*t

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible for people to have enjoyable careers and work with like-minded people who share their interests. In Do Cool Sh*t, Miki Agrawal, a young, successful entrepreneur, shares her journey of finding work she loves rather than working only to make money. For her, making money is not how she defines success. Rather, success is about doing the absolute best with the capabilities a person has rather than putting in hours in exchange for a paycheck and a boring existence. Her belief is that people truly can have it all.

According to Agrawal:

*People who step outside their existing social networks to make new connections may find it difficult at first, but it could create opportunities to meet potential investors for new business ventures. Without taking chances, these connections will never be made.

*Before asking for something, it is important for individuals to first understand exactly what they want. Clear proposals will make recipients more accepting of the "ask."

*Although there is a place for passion, entrepreneurs also need to stop and identify what they are good at. It is difficult to be successful in a venture without the skill set to back it up.

*Opportunities do not have to be strictly entrepreneurial--there is also an "intrapreneurial" approach where people expand their reach with their existing employers by growing their internal programs. This can only happen in work environments where creative thinking is encouraged.

*Part of the journey to success includes creating a list of admirable people. Entrepreneurs must connect personally with the people they admire in order find mentors who can help them launch their businesses.

*Teams are vital to success. Not investing the time to hire the right people can result in constantly re-hiring and training new people.

*If people are not willing to change the way they do business, they will never get the chance to experience new things. New experiences are vital for achieving success.

*The type of communities people spend time with strongly influence the types of people they become. Part of creating new lifestyles and mindsets involves finding new people with whom to spend time.

To learn more, please visit http://www.bizsum.com/summaries/do-cool-sht

Peer-to-Peer Leadership

In a world of globalization and ever-increasing connectivity, organizations need to fully leverage the autonomous, multifaceted capabilities of all employees in order to succeed. It is no longer effective to artificially designate “leaders” and “followers.” Instead, everyone must be empowered to take the lead as opportunities arise and circumstances change. Peer-to-peer network architecture, based on sharing of both information and power, offers a roadmap for building this egalitarian, organic type of leadership. In Peer-to-Peer Leadership, Mila N. Baker explains the model’s importance, reveals the source of its power, and describes how any organization can use it to create value.

To learn more, please visit: http://www.bizsum.com/summaries/peer-peer-leadership

Become the Real Deal

Regardless of people's business goals, whether they aspire to reach the highest levels of leadership or become influential within their own spheres, they must do what it takes to be viewed as the "real deal." Become the Real Dealby Connie Dieken takes people through the three layers of self development toward becoming sincere leaders in a world that lacks transparency.

There are three layers of the self that people must master if they want to become great leaders; inner presence, verbal presence, and outer presence. Some key points in understanding these layers are:

• People must invest time to understand who they are and establish their inner presences or they risk losing the ability to stay centered when they allow others to define them.
• Leaders with centered presences are good listeners. They recognize that not everything is about them and demonstrate a willingness to listen and learn from the ideas of others.
• People who are "worriers" should deal with the anxiety of perfectionism by shutting down their inner critic.
• People who are "egotists" need to work more on how they relate to other people to build trustworthy relationships. They are quick to shut other people down with negative comments.
• Those with strong, centered verbal presences think about how their messages will be received rather than focusing only on how these messages will be delivered.
• People who identify as "the mouse" need to focus on what other people say so they have more confidence when it is their time to make a contribution to the conversation.
• When leaders recognize the "motor mouth" trait in themselves, they need to ensure their messages are beneficial to the audience, rather than simply looking for an opportunity to speak.
• The outer presence is about how people respond to others based on what they see on the outside. This is established by facial expressions, tone, dress, and body language.
• "Ghosts" are people who lack an outer presence. They are rarely noticed in meetings due to their lack of contribution. They need to find their personal power and work to become more visible.
• "The pretender" personality types are often overbearing around other people. They can change this impression of themselves by admitting to mistakes and listening to others.