Rethinking Authenticity with Rita McGrath and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, welcomes Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of business psychology at University College London and an adjunct professor at Columbia University, and the author of Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead).

00:00 Introductions

01:06 Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?

02:54"Don't Be Yourself”: Why This Book, Now

05:21 Authenticity Versus Leadership, and Being the Leader the Situation Calls For

06:59 The Visibility of Authenticity

09:18 Power and Self Censorship from Jeff Pfeffer

11:04: The Four Mantras of Authenticity

11:30: Mantra 1: “Honesty”

14:18 Mantra 2: “Don’t Worry About What People Think”

15:45 Skill Building and Self Awareness, from Matt Beane

18:27 Mantra 3: “Always be True to Your Values”

21:42 The Overton Window and How Norms Shift

24:03: Herminia Ibarra’s Critique of the Authenticity Paradox

26:44 Mantra 4: “Bring Your Whole Self to Work”

27:57 Diversity and Belonging at Work

30:22 How Employee Engagement Fits Into the Authenticity Picture

32:27 How DEI Interventions Utilize Authenticity

34:36 The Return to Office: Why Senior Leadership Might Prefer In-Person Work

35:38: Chip Conley’s Learning to Love Midlife

36:37: Tech Bros, Solopreneurs, and Authenticity to an Extreme

38:27 Practical Alternatives: Your Right For Self Expression Versus Your Obligation to Others

41:22 The Self Complexity Framework and Office Politics

44:41 How to Interview: Honesty versus Employability

48:32 Gen Z: Developing Grit and Learning from Feedback

55:28 AI Paranoia and Adaptation

58:42: Gen AI as “Intellectual Fast Food”

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