Can Black Women be Authentic?

In order to be a good executive, you must be authentic.

Authenticity is the often used and often misunderstood word of the moment. Social media influencers, public figures, and celebrities have all touted the importance of being authentic. However, if you are like me, you may have noticed that authenticity has ironically become its own contrived form of branding.

Leaders may feel tempted to be authentic in the way that they see public figures be authentic. This can come in the form of oversharing, lacking discretion, and being transparent for transparency’s sake. This does not aid in effective leadership or gaining trust. So how does one “do” authenticity? Can one even do authenticity? Is being authentic something that is innate or can it be learned?

To be authentic means to be true to one’s own character, personality, or spirit. This means that even though the circumstances of our lives, jobs, and situations may change, we don’t fundamentally change because we remain our authentic selves.

When people wear someone’s else’s personality, mannerisms, and fashion sense as our own, it can be felt and seen. Like a poor replica of a luxury handbag, the general look and feel of the item may be correct but a deeper look shows it is not the real deal. And it comes at a hefty price.

A lack of trust in leadership contributes to employee turnover, retention issues, low productivity, and low engagement.

At The Elan Principle, we coach clients on the importance of being authentic. It is our belief that without authenticity, executive presence is not possible. But for dynamic women, especially Black women, we tend to approach this in a nuanced way. Why is that? Well, 80 percent of Black women feel that they need to significantly adjust their personality in order to succeed at work. They fear being perceived as “angry” or “unprofessional” (we know that professionalism is already a loaded word).

Yet as they rose through the ranks, Black women surveyed were less likely to want to be seen as the approachable/non threatening “girl next door” and more like the inspiring star who paved her own way.

With that said, what is the truth? Is it possible to be authentic as we battle tone policing, stereotyping, microaggressions, and good old fashioned misogyny?

Yes.

You show up as your best, right-est self at any given moment. Through difficult conversations, tough projects, challenging issues, you show up as your right-est self. This requires understanding who you are and who that best self is at any given moment. Having high emotional intelligence, being open to feedback from those you trust, having excellent nonverbal communication that’s direct and persuasive, and a personal brand coach that supports you along the way will just about guarantee that you can be your authentic, best self.

Think of authenticity like driving on a freeway. You’re you- in the vehicle of your choice, playing whatever music you want, driving fast, slower, aggressively, or cruising. You’re in your own space, doing your thing authentically with the understanding that as long as you don’t put anyone else in danger, you’re good.

That’s what it means to be authentic. You do your thing as long as it doesn’t make anyone else (including you) physically, emotionally, or psychologically unsafe along the way.