• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Beyond the Quarter

Beyond the Quarter

Business for humans

  • What We Do
    • Consulting
    • Gatherings
    • Speaking
    • For consultancies & agencies
    • What our clients say
  • Views ‘n News
    • Bite Size
    • Podcast
    • Books
    • Certifications / Frameworks
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Values
    • Impact
    • Founder
    • What our clients say
  • CONTACT
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Being authentic is not the most important thing

Being authentic is not the most important thing

Iyas A · Jan 11, 2022 ·

The “Be Authentic” religion has always troubled me. Dogmatic. Non-negotiable. Supreme.

I don’t buy it. It’s not the most important thing, because it positions your “authenticity” as more important than the collective good.

“Be authentic” is a selfish mantra.

The top of the hierarchy isn’t to be authentic. It is to “do the right thing”.

So when being authentic means that you do the right thing, then absolutely do it. But you’re not doing it because it is authentic – you do it because it is the right thing. That it is authentic as well is a fantastic bonus, and probably means in this matter, you’re one of the “good people”.

Whatever that means.

Our authenticity is constantly changing – if we’re the same now as we were at 15, we’ve not learned a thing. I’m not the same now as I was at 40. The best journey is for our authentic selves to be increasingly aligning with the right thing. That’s where wisdom comes in.

Do we ever fully get there? I doubt it. I don’t think anyone fully inhabits the intersection in that venn diagram all the time. I’m far from it, and I suspect you are too. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t always try to go there. That’s the journey.

So being authentic is an exercise in selfishness. The world doesn’t care about your authenticity. It cares whether or not you’re doing the right thing.

And if you’re in a leadership position, you’d better be more obsessed about doing the right thing than doing the authentic thing. Or you’ll be doing your team, yourself, and the place your growing a selfish disservice.


How's 2023 started for you? Is strategy consistently being executed? Are you not having to firefight or get involved in more deals than you should? We're looking for a group of 5 CEOs (10 to 100 employees) to join us on this workshop to talk through how to make your strategy, purpose and values happen. Join us.

Share this:

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • WhatsApp

Bite Size Business Tips Leadership, Purpose, Values

Copyright © 2023 · Beyond the Quarter Ltd

  • Privacy and Cookies
  • Get in touch