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The buzz word seems to be “authenticity” these days. Are you an authentic leader? Are you being authentic at work? Are you an authentic team player?

What does “authentic” even mean?

I once heard someone say that one cannot call oneself an authentic person; it must come from others around you as it is how they sense and experience you as a person.

So who is to judge what is authentic? And how does one become authentic? Is being true to oneself authentic? How do you show the authenticity?

It is more obvious that I thought: a look of disgust on my face, a flash of suspicion in my eyes, a roll of my eyeballs in desperation at the incompetence.

This is my “authentic disdain.”  

I do not know enough about being an empathetic, compassionate, authentic leader in any context, but I do know how to show repugnance, and I am going to claim this as a gift. Perhaps I can claim it as a new theory and that will be my contribution to leadership and organization studies…. *eye roll*

There is so much positive psychology, and lovey-dovey-feel-good-let’s-all-love-each-other type writing, workshops, ideas, and talks etc. floating around in this galaxy. I will patch in the gaps, and get us to look at the things that we do not want to look at: our anger, our hurt, our pain, our mediocrities, our tears. Of course there is a rainbow after the storm, but if right now, we are in a storm, let us sit with the storm and feel the wind lashing on to our wounded skin.After sunny days, the lightning will also arrive.  Let us deal with the shit too.

As I get in touch with my inner bitch, I will show more authentic disdain, do my eye rolls, and express my sarcasm in such distaste that will make you shiver (actually, the thought of doing that every time I would like to, petrifies me, what will others think about me….?)

Let us face it, we all have our moments when we would like to tear someone else apart.

Let us own our disdain, face it, talk to it, let it become empowering… and let it be that unpolished, unmasked, unhidden side of vulnerability that we dare to show.

A toast to authentic disdain.