'Therapy' aims to aid worker, workplace

— -- To gain a competitive edge in business, it might pay to use a little psychology. In her new book, Leadership Therapy: Inside the Mind of Microsoft, psychologist Anna Rowley describes STCT (Short Term Corporate Therapy), the program she has developed to help people navigate speed bumps in careers and aid dysfunctional work teams.

Don't worry if you never took Psychology 101. Rowley does a nice job explaining critical terminology. She writes in a clear, no-nonsense style, making this a brisk, invigorating read.

She says leaders must take responsibility for their own predicaments. One way is to recognize psychological traps. Example: the impostor syndrome, in which you secretly feel that people will find out you really don't deserve your job or promotion. It results in needing to be the best to gain the approval of others, and becoming a "neurotic perfectionist" driven by a fear of failure.

There are five components to STCT:

•Belief. In this sense, not about religion or spirituality, but what you believe about yourself and your work. Beliefs are the core of your being, and must be communicated to those on your team. Remember that you are not two people in one body: "Who you are at work," she writes, "is who you are outside of work."

•Confidence. Don't get stuck on internal criticism. Know who you really are, and for whom you are living your life. She has worked with clients who "find themselves living out a parent's fantasy and need to come to terms with their own aspirations and ideals."

•Self-awareness. "By fully understanding ourselves — our motivations, beliefs, our relationship with success, our blind spots — we become less self-absorbed. We don't feel the need to focus all our attention internally on our needs, our feelings and our personal agenda."