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\u201cJust be yourself\u201d may be an oft-given piece of advice, but it won\u2019t take you in the right direction as a workplace leader, one psychology of business professor argues.<\/p>\n
While authenticity has been linked with increased self-esteem, it can also hamper a leader\u2019s ability know when to stop advocating for one\u2019s personal values and start advocating for their team, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a professor of business psychology at University College London and Columbia University adjunct professor, says in his book Don\u2019t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead).<\/p>\n
\u201cFeeling authentic does not equate to being perceived as talented or competent by others,\u201d Chamorro-Premuzic writes in his book, an excerpt of which was adapted for Harvard Business Review online. \u201cDespite the subjective benefits of authenticity, being true to ourselves does not translate into being better colleagues or leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
The return-to-office movement sparked debate not only on work-life balance but on how to integrate or separate one\u2019s personal and professional lives, and the debate is particularly salient for the emerging Gen Z workforce, who managers believe are sorely lacking in the soft skills needed to thrive in the workplace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The generation eschewing traditional dress code and leveraging the \u201cGen Z stare\u201d may embody authenticity, but some would argue it\u2019s holding them back. Suzy Welch, a business journalist and adjunct professor at\u00a0New York University\u2019s Stern School of Business, went so far as to air whether entry-level workers are \u201cunemployable\u201d due to the gap between the generation\u2019s workplace expectations and employer demands.<\/p>\n
Who are the voices in the authenticity debate?<\/p>\n
Workplace leaders have made their anti-authenticity stance clear. Billionaire investor Marc Andreessen said in 2024 employees should \u201cleave your full self at home where it belongs and act like a professional and a grownup at work and in public,\u201d while former\u00a0U.S. Secret Service agent Evy Poumpouras argued you shouldn\u2019t bring your authentic self to work because it can inhibit teamwork.<\/p>\n
Thought leaders have agreed on the importance of limiting transparency as the \u201cbring your whole self to work\u201d idea has been extensively debated and reevaluated in recent years. New York Times Opinion columnist Pamela Paul, famous on the internet for her contrarian center-left takes, wrote in 2022 that some employees may not want to feel workplace pressures to divulge information about their personal lives and that an effort to create an \u201cauthentic\u201d workplace often defies the purpose of work for many people, which is to earn a paycheck. Writer and critic Jodi-Ann Burey, in her 2025 book Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work, even called workplace authenticity a myth as it exists in a system that punishes groups like people of color and women, who may deviate from workplace norms.<\/p>\n
Chamorro-Premuzic takes the argument against workplace authenticity in a different direction. It\u2019s not about separating the personal from professional; it\u2019s about identifying strategies that make you better at leading in your workplace.<\/p>\n
In a 2023 University of Reading-led meta-analysis of 55 studies on self-monitoring and leadership, researchers found that managing one\u2019s impression of themselves to others\u2014as opposed to the feeling of maintaining a sense of authenticity\u2014was associated with greater leadership effectiveness for both tasks and relationship-building. In other words, being a chameleon and adapting to different employees and workplace scenarios can be more effective than having a static set of values and strategies.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if feeling authentic feels great, you are more likely to become an effective leader if you focus on gratifying others and adjusting your behavior according to what the situation demands,\u201d Chamorro-Premuzic said. \u201cSo, it\u2019s not authenticity, but knowing where the right to be you ends and your obligation to others begins, that makes you effective in work settings.\u201d<\/p>\n
What is the authenticity paradox?<\/p>\n
Though empirical research backs up Chamorro-Premuzic\u2019s thoughts around prioritizing adapting to others versus feeling good about one\u2019s own values, he concedes it\u2019s not an intuitive shift. To better understand why authenticity should be decentralized in the workplace, it\u2019s best to consider how that authenticity may be perceived by others, he said: While you may see making a crass joke as showing teammates your sense of humor, the reality is you may develop a workplace reputation as being insensitive. If you overshare what\u2019s happening in your personal life, it can wear away employees\u2019 belief in your ability to lead clear-headedly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo navigate this intricate balance effectively, you need to harness the necessary psychological maturity to recognize that just because you feel like saying something does not mean you should,\u201d Chamorro-Premuzic said.<\/p>\n
Many leaders are already making these small decisions daily in what they post on social media, send in emails, or discuss around the water cooler. But these small decisions aren\u2019t actually a disingenuous way of leading, Chamorro-Premuzic noted. It\u2019s a way of developing an intuition that people may see as its own form of authenticity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe irony, then, is that by disciplining or editing our authenticity, we may actually come across as more trustworthy and competent to others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on Oct. 9, 2025.<\/p>\n
More on career advice:<\/p>\n
McDonald\u2019s CEO shares tough love career advice he\u2019d give Gen Z and young millennial workers: \u2018No one cares about your career\u2019<\/p>\n
Billionaire Vinod Khosla says \u2018follow your passion\u2019 is bad career advice for kids today\u2014but could be the best in 15 years<\/p>\n
Scott Galloway says the key to landing jobs is be as social as possible: \u201870% of the time, the person they pick is someone with an internal advocate\u2019<\/p>\n
#Business #psychology #professor #authentic #workplace #leader #overrated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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