Authenticity

Strawberry tiramisu - authentic or inauthentic?

Merriam-Webster defines authenticity as being true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character. By this definition, strawberry tiramisu is authentic. People want to be authentic and live true to themselves rather than societal norms. Yet Scientific American cites research that shows that people feel most authentic when they’re conforming to socially approved qualities. From this perspective, strawberry tiramisu is inauthentic because it doesn’t conform to society’s expectation of it being coffee-based.

There’s a conundrum here that implies that we have an internal struggle between meeting society’s expectations and our own.

We’re bombarded with messages of appropriate behavior and expectations throughout our lives. We get it from our parents, culture, religion, school, and the workplace, just to name the obvious. It can become challenging to separate what’s authentic to us versus what’s been ingrained in us.

Teasing out true authenticity may seem unnecessary; however, authenticity is critical when applying the Platinum Rule to your leadership style. With the Platinum Rule, you need to learn about each of your employees as individuals so you can treat them as they want to be treated (and have everyone reap the benefits that come from that). You can only do that if they are willing to share their authentic selves with you, to at least some extent.

Your employees will take their lead from you. If you don’t show your authentic self, they won’t feel enough trust to share theirs. They’ll sense it, even if subconsciously, and you’ll get a surface level version of them that conforms to societal norms and prevents you from leading them as effectively as you can. It may be worth taking a little time to evaluate if you’re showing up in a way that encourages them to show up in a way that benefits you all the most.