Authenticity As The Last Human Advantage?

There’s a strange irony about visibility… especially these days.

Most of us spend years trying to be seen… to have our work noticed.
To stand out… to prove ourselves… to make our point.
And then the moment we step forward… we freeze.
We filter… we shrink… we wonder if we’re “too much”… or maybe “not enough.”
What’s wild is that this isn’t about ego.

It’s about safety.

For years, I’ve talked about the tension between personal brand and professional presence.
I’ve encouraged people to be personable and questioned those who got too personal.
How much to share… how loud to be… how vulnerable to get.
I’m not sure I even know the answers to these questions for myself anymore.

Editing this week’s episode of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast with Angela Chee reminded me that many of us were never taught how to hold space for our own voice… let alone share it.

Angela’s story is about more than being heard… it’s about owning your only-ness.
That unique blend of history, culture, experience, identity and perception that can’t be replicated.
That unique blend that (for the time being) AI can’t mirror back at the world.
It’s one thing to say we value authenticity.
It’s another to be the first in the room to actually live it… especially when you’ve never seen it modelled before.

I find myself thinking about how often we mask our best ideas behind the language we think people expect from us.

We don’t show up fully… we show up safely.
And that has consequences… I know it has for me.
Not just for our careers… but for the kind of culture we create.
For the teams we lead… the products we build… the next generation who’s watching.

There’s power in turning down the noise of perfectionism and tuning into what’s uniquely yours.

I think about how Jake Karls and the rest of the Mid-Day Squares leadership share their story… so open… so real.
That’s not soft… that’s not self-help fluff… that’s leadership.
I’m jealous of them because I’m scared to let that side show.
I use cute lines like “I’m living a post-status lifestyle” (which can be both true and a way to deflect my own anxiety about putting myself out there).
If you’ve ever felt like you’ve had to edit who you are just to fit in…
Or worried that sharing your story would somehow make you “less professional”…

This one’s for you… and this one’s for me (because I feel like that often).

I’ve been trying to be more open in this space lately.
I’m taking it one small step at a time… and challenging myself to leap just a little bit more.

I hope that you do the same…

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