We live in a disconnected age of overload — a challenge for even the most seasoned of leaders.

We communicate in 2D with the people we need to influence the most — where subtleties of expression and emotion get lost.

We’re inundated with information, consuming 40 times more information than we did in the 1940s and 4 times more information than we did just 20 years ago.

Add AI to that, and we can all access an inordinate amount of knowledge, and even be articulate thought leaders with ChatGPT writing our articles and keynotes. And…

We all sound like similar experts in our field. We don’t know who to trust. Nor do we know who is credible.

Your expertise is critical to doing your job. But it’s no longer enough to be a “great leader”. The key to standing out as a leader, to rising above the noise, and — so importantly — in connecting with the younger generations?

Authenticity. It isn’t a fad. It’s now a necessity.

Authenticity is the key to the five-star way of leadership in the new world of work. It doesn’t dimmish credibility; it builds it.

Our stories are the threads that weave us together with our team, clients, investors, or our board. It’s the element that pulls our audience in to want to listen to the perspective we’re espousing. It triggers dopamine in our brain to build greater trust in us, and quicker. And when information is coupled with story, it’s remembered x times more than information alone.

Information doesn’t have personality and perspective. You do. And that is what makes you memorable and relatable.

I’ve personally travelled to 32 countries and counting. I’ve stayed in five-star resorts to humble abodes in developing nations. And the most memorable and impactful places I’ve ever been — what I’d called a “five-star experience”? — it was a genuine human connection. It was the stories told, the vulnerability shared and the authentic nature of the people I met.

Want to stay relevant? Be an impactful leader? Stand out to clients or your superiors? Then figuring out how you’re going to show up more authentic is critical to success.

A few questions to ask yourself:

  1. What stories am I telling the world, and hence myself? Particularly as women, we inherit narratives of who we’re “supposed” to be, particularly in a corporate world.
  2. Do these narratives align with who I am and truly want to be?
  3. How can I ditch or rewrite those narratives that don’t align? And then show up with more personality and personal perspective?

And another exercise…

Draw a box. Place all the ways you show up in the professional world inside the box. Now write all the ways you show up outside of work, outside the box. What is ONE thing outside your box that you can start bringing into your box? And remember… “professional” does not mean “perfect” (something we often play out).