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stretching outside your stylistic comfort zone
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Jun 21, 2016 17:18
7 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term

in the guise of authenticity

English Art/Literary Management
Hello everyone,

From the book about how to become a successful leader.

No one wants to lose herself in the process of change, yet the only way to start thinking like a leader is to act like one, even when it feels inauthentic at first. This chapter shows how you can stop straitjacketing your identity in the guise of authenticity***. The outsight you gain from trying to be someone you’re not (yet) helps you more than any introspection about the leader you might become.

Although I'm faniliar with the phrase "under/in the guise of" I can't understand what it means in the context above.
How can someone's identity pretend to be "authenticity" or look like authenticity?

Does "in the guise of authenticity" really imply "within the framework/limits of authenticity"?

Thank you.
Responses
3 in an attempt to appear true/real/authentic
4 +1 let your identity get out of the straitjacket you are creating for it by being true to yourself
3 +1 within the framework / limits of authenticity
4 in the name of / dressed up as authenticity
2 +1 puposely throtteling one's own identity

Discussion

TonyTK Jun 22, 2016:
@Daryo >> to "reinvent" yourself you have to have an identity in the first place <<
I'm not quite sure what that means - but I agree on the influence thing and, looking around, I suppose things are going to get worse before they get better. I trust we'll all come to our senses eventually, though, and elect leaders with the odd principle or two ...
Daryo Jun 22, 2016:
to "reinvent" yourself you have to have an identity in the first place

both Dave and BoJo would say anything that they think the majority wants to hear ...

OTOH I wouldn't be too quickly dismissive of ideas, especially of hogwash that seems [without asking whether you like or not] to have far more influence that you would expect.
TonyTK Jun 22, 2016:
@Morton Yes, it's certainly hogwash. "Therapies" like NLP or even rebirthing are full of this stuff. Being ourselves (i.e. what we might call "authentic") is a bad thing because it means we accept our limitations. We need to re-invent ourselves (presumably by redefining "authenticity"). In UK politics, I'd say both Dave and BoJo are perfect examples of this.
Jonathan MacKerron Jun 22, 2016:
= allow your identity as a leader to emerge, instead of clinging on to your "old self", which the author seems to think is a detrimental for those in managerial positions.
Graeme Jones Jun 21, 2016:
Could be... Though it sounds as though the recommendation is to "stop straitjacketing your identity in the guise of authenticity" i.e. stop faking it... but maybe you have to start faking it before you can stop it!
TonyTK Jun 21, 2016:
This sounds more like you're ... ... supposed to fake it at first. IOW even if you don't feel like a leader, if you act like one it'll soon become second nature. A bit like "smile therapy". If you're a miserable bugger but authentically so, try walking around with a (non-authentic) beaming smile on your face. According to http://smilesmile.jpn.com/EN/whatisJSTA/index.html, "by artificially raising your mouth's corner, your brain will believe that you are actually having fun or liking something." I must try that at the dentist. Oh wait ...
Graeme Jones Jun 21, 2016:
guise of authenticity Pompous twaddle. (the original ST, not what others have said here! Just to be clear.)
It sounds as though the recommendation is to "be yourself" when learning to be a leader. Many people will behave in the way they think a leader should behave (that is the guise of authenticity - i.e. using the [dis]guise of an authentic leader.) But if you can stop straitjacketing your identity - i.e. restraining your own personality, because you think that's a how a leader should behave - then you will succeed.
I assume "outsight" is some trendy opposite of "insight"... duh!
philgoddard Jun 21, 2016:
I'm guessing it means "act like a leader while maintaining your authentic identity".
AllegroTrans Jun 21, 2016:
And I agree with Phil. This really is convoluted text.
philgoddard Jun 21, 2016:
If it's any consolation The reason why you're having difficulty understanding this is because the whole text is badly written. I have only a vague idea of what your sentence means.

Responses

10 hrs
Selected

in an attempt to appear true/real/authentic

Yes, it is convoluted but this is how I read this...a bit different from others, so I've broken it into segments to try and tease out the meaning

"No one wants to lose herself in the process of change= no one wants to lose sight of themselves while undergoing change

"yet the only way to start thinking like a leader is to act like one, even when it feels inauthentic at first"=BUT you have to act like a leader if you want to think like one...even though this may seem "fake" as if you're acting a role and not being true to your real self.

"This chapter shows how you can stop straitjacketing your identity in the guise of authenticity"= this chapter will show you how you can stop restricting/confining your own identity, hoping by so doing you appear "authentic" or "real"

"The outsight you gain from trying to be someone you’re not (yet)"=By gaining a clear overview/experience of the person/persona you are trying to become

"helps you more than any introspection about the leader you might become."=is going to help you become that leader much faster than introspection alone

So, in summary, by acting like a leader you will start thinking like one and achieve your objective faster, without having to restrain yourself by acting according to your (supposed) character


http://www.dictionary.com/browse/outsight
the ability to see and understand external things clearly.

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Note added at 2 days20 hrs (2016-06-24 14:09:38 GMT) Post-grading
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Glad to have helped
Peer comment(s):
neutral Daryo : what the text is saying is: in an attempt to remain true/real/authentic
4 hrs
I disagree with your reading
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Many thanks to everyone. Thank you, Gallagy."
+1
18 mins

puposely throtteling one's own identity

in order to appear authentic in the eyes of others, is my take...

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Note added at 19 mins (2016-06-21 17:38:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

i.e.: faking one's true identity
Peer comment(s):
agree acetran
2 days 10 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
2 hrs

within the framework / limits of authenticity

*
Peer comment(s):
agree acetran
2 days 8 hrs
Thank you acetran ...
Something went wrong...
+1
14 hrs
English term (edited): stop straitjacketing your identity in the guise of authenticity

let your identity get out of the straitjacket you are creating for it by being true to yourself

or more precisely

let your identity get out of the straitjacket you are creating for it by being true to your [present/current/soon to be past] self

cessez d'emprisonner votre identité dans la camisole de votre "vrai moi"

the "straitjacket" is in the limitations you are imposing on yourself by being "true to yourself" IOW you have to step outside of those limits.

"in the guise of" here doesn't mean "external appearance" but "in the form of" i.e. your [present] "true self" is taking the shape of/is acting as a straitjacket

unsurprisingly, the explanation is in the previous sentence:

No one wants to lose herself in the process of change, yet the only way to start thinking like a leader is to act like one, even when it feels inauthentic at first.

reminds me of a good reply to anyone objecting to you changing your opinion about something:

"Am I supposed to be slave for life of my own opinions?"

cessez d'emprisonner votre identité dans la camisole de votre "vrai moi"


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Note added at 14 hrs (2016-06-22 08:02:39 GMT)
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delete last line
Peer comment(s):
agree Yasutomo Kanazawa
58 mins
Thanks!
Something went wrong...
22 hrs

in the name of / dressed up as authenticity

As I read this convoluted text, the author is trying to say that the reader should liberate their identity from the straitjacket imposed by fear of trying new approaches and enable it to develop. The "straitjacket" is justified by the person claiming that the way they currently behave is their authentic identity and to change that would be inauthentic.

They cling to the limitations they have adopted and that act as a straitjacket, defending those limitations as being their authentic persona, when their authentic persona might be capable of change and growth.

OMG! Does that sound like self-help waffle?!
Peer comment(s):
neutral Daryo : Does that sound like self-help waffle?! yes it does - but it's roughly the idea.
1 day 10 hrs
It's a different idea though from your suggestion and both cannot be right.
Something went wrong...
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