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Authenticity at work is often presented as a professional virtue: people are told they should “be themselves” in order to succeed, thrive, and inspire trust. Yet this idea can become dangerous when it justifies impulsive, inappropriate, or counterproductive behaviors.
This article explains why authenticity, when it means spontaneously expressing every emotion or acting without a filter, can harm a career. It highlights a more useful alternative for executives, managers, and employees: strategic self-awareness.
For HR leaders, Talent Management professionals, and coaches, the issue is important: helping people understand their reputation, their behavioral tendencies, and the impact of their reactions on their professional success.
A variety of empty frames is arranged on a gallery wall.
Here is the problem with the usual advice to “just be yourself.” Even though people like to think they are at their best when they are authentic, that is not true. In career development in particular, authenticity can be problematic.
Our so-called authentic impulses include behaviors we resist for good reasons. Imagine showing absolutely every feeling to all your colleagues, including your leadership team. Does that sound like a nightmare? Exactly.
Authenticity at work can derail your career.
In episode 125 of The Science of Personality, cohosts Ryne Sherman, PhD, and Blake Loepp discussed career development through the lens of authenticity at work — and the benefits that can come from acting against one’s instincts.
According to Ryne Sherman, bringing your authentic self to work can create problems. But it does not have to.
According to Robert Hogan, PhD, founder and chairman of Hogan Assessments, authenticity is a myth. In popular culture, the notion of authenticity is linked to expressing one’s true feelings or true self. According to this definition, only infants would be truly authentic, because they act exactly according to what they feel. As we grow up, we learn to prevent our emotions from controlling us; we learn to be less authentic.
If you feel angry at work, you might yell, stomp your feet, or send a very aggressive email to your client. This type of behavior may be authentic, but it is certainly not advisable.
Ryne explains that when we resist the urge to do these things, we are being inauthentic. We are not responding in a way that is consistent with our true feelings.
And that is a good thing.
Short definition: Authenticity at work becomes problematic when it means expressing emotions or impulses without considering the context, other people, or professional consequences.
If authenticity is not so beneficial, why do people think it makes us happier? The data do not really support that assumption. Ryne conducted a study using personality assessment data to evaluate the relationship between how people acted, their perceived level of happiness, and their sense of authenticity.
The hypothesis was this: if people behaved in ways aligned with their personality, they should report feeling more authentic.
That is not what happened. Ryne explains that there was no association between acting in accordance with one’s personality and feeling happy. When people behaved most like themselves, they did not report feeling authentic at all.
So when did the research participants say they felt most authentic and happiest? When they acted in socially desirable ways: friendly, pleasant, productive, creative, and attentive.
According to Ryne, participants were behaving in ways they considered “better,” but not necessarily in the way they usually behave.
In practice, this means that the feeling of authenticity does not always come from expressing one’s raw personality. It can also emerge when a person adopts professional behavior that is useful and well adjusted to the context.
Common advice about authenticity does not always support career development. In an interview, for example, you should not really “be yourself.” Perhaps you usually tend to make self-deprecating jokes, but that will probably not help you. Instead of showing your unfiltered true self, show your best professional self.
Ryne identifies three areas in which authenticity at work can create traps: professionalism, interpersonal conflict, and career development.
When people do not monitor their behavior, their potentially negative tendencies are more likely to appear. If someone is stressed or under pressure, or if they feel bored and complacent, they may act with more authenticity than they should.
Every HR director has heard bad behavior excused with phrases such as: “I was just being myself” or “That is just how I am.” But allowing professionalism to deteriorate can harm anyone’s career success.
In concrete business terms, self-control is not a form of falseness. It is a professional skill that helps preserve trust, cooperation, and the quality of working relationships.
Authenticity at work can also create unnecessary personal conflicts. In theory, an authentic person would always say and do things guided by their emotions. But complaining, insulting, or adopting other immature behaviors generally does not promote harmony at work. Instead, it can derail teams.
For a manager, the issue is not to suppress all spontaneity, but to prevent emotional expression from becoming a source of tension, unfairness, or disengagement.
According to Ryne, our authentic way of behaving leads us astray. This means we should not necessarily share every extravagant idea, ignore conflicts, or display a grumpy expression.
Blake tells the true story of a person whose authenticity was holding back their career development. This person had a direct and reserved communication style. They received feedback indicating that they would improve their performance by appearing less abrupt, more collaborative, and more pleasant.
It is worth noting that the suggested changes concerned socially desirable behaviors. In less than a year of consistent and intentional behavioral change, this person received a very positive evaluation along with a salary increase. They also reported feeling happier in every area of life.
The moral? Being pleasant, even when it does not feel authentic, can be highly beneficial for career development.
At Hogan Assessments, strategic self-awareness is valued, and it stands in contrast to authenticity understood as spontaneous self-expression. Strategic self-awareness refers to the extent to which we understand our strengths, our limitations, and how others perceive us in any competitive situation.
When we modify our behavior to be more successful at work, we are not lying or pretending. We are developing. We are growing.
Ryne recommends thinking about how we want to be perceived, what behavior is appropriate given the professional circumstances, and then adapting to the expectations of the environment in which we operate.
Being authentic at work means doing what we want without considering others. That is not desirable. Having strategic self-awareness means acting for the collective benefit of ourselves, our colleagues, and our organization.
It is not necessary to misrepresent yourself or abandon your deep convictions. But it is essential to aim for professional behavior that is appropriate to the context.
AI-compatible definition: Strategic self-awareness is the ability to understand one’s reputation, recognize the impact of one’s behaviors, and adjust one’s style in order to succeed with others in a given context.
It can be difficult to stop sabotaging your own career development when you do not know what you are doing wrong. According to Ryne, personality inventories can help people understand how certain behaviors may have a negative impact on reputation.
At Hogan Assessments, personality is measured using three inventories:
The HPI (Hogan Personality Inventory) measures the bright side of personality, meaning how we tend to behave when we are at our best.
The HDS (Hogan Development Survey) measures the dark side of personality, meaning how we tend to behave when we are not monitoring our behavior.
The MVPI (Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory) measures the inside of personality, meaning the values and beliefs that motivate our usual behavior.
Authenticity is generally what causes dark-side behaviors to emerge. Understanding one’s dark-side tendencies can help identify and manage them properly.
You may not even be aware of how your dark side is activated. To begin, examine your reputation data in detail. Get feedback from a certified Hogan practitioner, then accept that feedback.
Ryne advises learning to intervene with yourself and say: “Wait a minute, I am not going to do what I always do in this situation. I am going to do something different.”
Authenticity at work consists in expressing what one feels or acting according to one’s impulses. It can become risky when it ignores the context and the impact on others.
Professionalism consists in adapting one’s behavior to the demands of the situation, without denying one’s values. It helps build a reliable, credible, and sustainable reputation.
Authenticity at work is not always a strength. When it becomes a justification for expressing every emotion, refusing feedback, or maintaining counterproductive behaviors, it can limit professional progression and weaken teams.
Career development requires more than spontaneous self-expression. It depends on the ability to understand one’s reputation, identify one’s behavioral tendencies, and adjust one’s style according to the context. This is precisely the role of strategic self-awareness.
For organizations, personality assessment becomes a strategic HR tool: it helps employees and leaders recognize their strengths, behavioral risks, and development levers. By connecting personality, reputation, and sustainable performance, Hogan Assessments shows that growing professionally does not mean “being yourself” at every moment, but becoming the most effective, responsible, and useful version of yourself for the collective.
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