How Authenticity and Vulnerability Pay Off and Help You Win Personally and Professionally
In their series “How Authenticity and Vulnerability Pay Off and Help You Win Personally and Professionally”, Authority Magazine asked me several questions in an interview. I truly believe in the power of authenticity, so I gladly answered their questions.
What does being Authentic mean?
Being authentic for me means getting rid of all limitations you’ve put on yourself. Becoming your true self. That might sound simple, yet that doesn’t make it easy. Because sometimes we don’t even recognize we’re not ourselves. For instance, I am still working on it and I’ve been in this business since 2015. In 2022 during a three days seminar, I suddenly had an epiphany that I wasn’t myself till then. I ‘ve always had a great relationship with my father, who passed away in 2002, and I wanted to have the same relationship with my son. And I realized that that’s a mission impossible. Because in order to achieve that exact same relationship, I had to become my father and he had to become me. So I let go of that desire, and the relationship with my son started improving. Who would have thought?
Why is being vulnerable a strength?
That might sound counterintuitive, but I can explain. Being vulnerable means opening up. A lot of people think that being vulnerable results in others taking advantage of you, and yes, that certainly is a possibility. When you let them. But you can also open up, not caring what others think of you. When I attend a training, I ask any question I want, because I’m there to learn, to develop myself and I don’t care what others think of my question. When something is not clear to me, or I want the knowledge to be verified if I got it right, I ask a question. Actually, I expect the same from people attending my trainings. There is absolutely no reason to be ashamed. And that’s showing strength. It’s even in our body language; when we feel comfortable and confident, we make ourselves more vulnerable.
What are five ways that being authentic and vulnerable pay off, and help you win, both personally and professionally
So what are the five ways I shared with Maria (and you)? Here is the summary:
- When you’re your authentic self, you will attract the clients that like and trust you for who you really are and that need your services.
- You are becoming predictable in a sense that people know what they can expect from you and they like that.
- It will build the congeniality in your relationships.
- By going first, it builds trust.
- You only need to be who truly are.
Of course, without context, thoe five ways might not say that much. That’s why I shared the full interview below. Go ahead and click on the picture for the full interview: