Is Authenticity Overrated?

Being yourself is not always the same as being your best.

For some time now I’ve been wrestling with this growing idea that we should all “bring our authentic selves to work.”

I understand the intent. We want people to feel comfortable with being who they are. We want workplaces where people don’t have to pretend, perform or hide behind some artificial professional mask.

But something about it doesn’t sit quite right with me.

Maybe we’ve started to over-indulge the idea? Perhaps, like a few other well-intended workplace concepts, authenticity can often be weaponised to excuse behaviour that needs to be challenged, or changed.

Speaking on The Diary of a CEO, Seth Godin nailed it when he said:

“Authenticity is often used as an excuse for being a jerk... I would rather have a consistent surgeon than an authentic surgeon.”

Exactly.

If I’m about to have surgery, I don’t particularly want my surgeon’s unfiltered authentic self turning up that morning.

Do I really need to know if they’re grumpy, irritated, had a fight with their partner or simply not feeling it today?

I want the best professional version of them.

To paraphrase Seth Godin, he declared;

“your friends and family need your authentic self - the marketplace needs your consistent self.”

Being authentic shouldn’t mean giving free rein to every instinct, emotion or personality trait.

Sometimes leadership means listening when you’d rather speak. Staying calm when you’re frustrated. Having the difficult conversation when you’d rather avoid it. Giving someone space when your instinct is to jump in and take over.

That isn’t being fake. That’s being mature.

One of the most limiting things we can say in the workplace is:

“That’s just who I am. Like it or lump it.”

Well, nobody is liking it, and what you’re really saying is that everyone else must lump it!

Our default personality might explain our behaviour, but it doesn’t automatically excuse it.

Our directness can become bluntness. Our confidence can become arrogance. Our attention to detail can become control. Even our inner desire to help can become interference and self-indulgence.

The goal isn’t about losing who you are. It’s about becoming more deliberate about which version of you turns up, particularly when other people are relying on you.

So, perhaps we should stop telling people at work to simply “be themselves.”

A better challenge might be:

Know yourself. Manage yourself. Then show up as the best version of yourself.

Wishing you a wonderful week of showing up as the better version of you.

Richard Dore
CEO - Director of Partnerships
Proteus Leadership