The impostor phenomenon (IP) refers to intense thoughts of fraudulence reported by high-achieving individuals. Since it has been shown to account for several personal and work-related complications, effective interventions are greatly needed. Against the background of mindset theory, we developed and tested two mindset interventions. We evaluated the impact of a coaching and a training intervention adopting a randomized controlled outcome design. One hundred and three young employees were randomly assigned to receive coaching (n = 36), training (n = 33), or no intervention (n = 34). Results reveal that coaching was an effective mindset intervention for sustainably reducing IP scores. Fear of negative evaluation emerged to mediate the relation between the coaching intervention and the reduced IP scores significantly. Moreover, coaching improved self-enhancing attributions and self-efficacy and reduced the tendency to cover up errors as well as the fear of negative evaluation. Training was superior in regard to knowledge acquisition. Specific implications are discussed.

Building on the transactional model of stress and coping, we examined the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioural coaching programme. In a randomised controlled field study, undergraduates were instructed to formulate stress-related goals for themselves and were allocated to attend an intervention group receiving one-on-one stress management coaching (coaching; n = 24) or a control group receiving no additional intervention (goal formulation; n = 20). Results suggest that both coaching and goal formulation led to a significant increase in goal attainment that was maintained at a 4-week follow-up assessment. Compared with goal formulation, coaching positively affected participants' cognitive stress appraisal and led to reduced chronic stress levels (chronic stress screening scores, high work demands, and chronic worrying) 4 weeks after the intervention. The reduction of chronic stress was mediated by the change in participants' cognitive stress appraisal. Thus, cognitivebehavioural coaching appears effective in helping individuals develop strategies to deal with stress, while also remaining focused on relevant goals.