Business psychology professor: Being an authentic workplace leader is 'overrated'

“Just be yourself” may be an oft-given piece of advice, but it won’t take you in the right direction as a workplace leader, one psychology of business professor argues.

While authenticity has been linked with increased self-esteem, it can also hamper a leader’s ability know when to stop advocating for one’s 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 new book Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead).

“Feeling authentic does not equate to being perceived as talented or competent by others,” Chamorro-Premuzic writes in his book, an excerpt of which was adapted for Harvard Business Review online. “Des