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The Misunderstood Power Of Authenticity
Authenticity has become a business buzzword, but its true meaning has been watered down by repetition. In professional life, especially for women, authenticity is both an aspiration and a risk. It is praised in leadership literature yet often punished in real life. A man who is direct may be called decisive, while a woman using the same tone might be described as abrasive. These double standards place women in a constant balancing act, shaping their voices to fit expectations rather than leading from a place of self-trust.
To understand authenticity as a form of influence, it is important to redefine what authenticity actually means. It is not about revealing everything or refusing to adapt. Nor is it a call to be endlessly transparent. True authenticity is about alignment — when what you say, what you do, and what you believe all move in the same direction. It is the quiet confidence that allows you to lead without pretending. When women achieve this kind of internal coherence, their influence extends naturally because it is rooted in credibility rather than performance.
The professional world often sends conflicting messages about what women should be. Be confident, but not too confident. Be assertive, but remain approachable. Be visible, but not self-promoting. This contradictory guidance creates tension between how women feel and how they are told to behave. Authenticity becomes difficult not because women lack self-awareness but because systems are slow to adapt to genuine diversity in communication and leadership style. Yet, when women embrace authenticity as a deliberate strategy rather than a passive trait, they create a new model of influence that feels both sustainable and powerful.
Why Authenticity Matters More Than Ever
In an era defined by noise, authenticity cuts through. Whether in boardrooms, research labs, or virtual meetings, people instinctively gravitate toward voices that feel real. Audiences, colleagues, and clients can sense when someone’s confidence comes from conviction rather than performance. For women in STEM and other demanding professions, this shift is particularly vital. Technical expertise and professional competence are necessary, but influence depends on connection. Authenticity humanises authority, allowing women to inspire trust without diminishing their expertise.
Authenticity also supports resilience. Women who are clear about their values and purpose can navigate challenges without losing their centre. They recover faster from criticism and rejection because their confidence is not built on approval but on clarity. They know what they stand for. This sense of groundedness becomes a leadership advantage in uncertain times.
Organisations that encourage authentic leadership see tangible benefits. Teams led by authentic leaders demonstrate higher engagement, stronger collaboration, and greater innovation. When leaders model integrity, they give others permission to do the same. In this way, authenticity is not only a personal asset but a cultural catalyst — a force that reshapes workplaces from within.
The Gendered Barriers To Authentic Expression
Despite growing awareness, authenticity remains harder to practise for women than for men. Cultural expectations still reward conformity to traditional models of leadership that were not designed with women in mind. Women who express authority risk being labelled as aggressive, while those who prioritise empathy are sometimes seen as weak. These outdated perceptions discourage genuine communication and limit professional visibility.
Many women respond by managing their image meticulously, curating their professional personas to appear competent but non-threatening. Yet this self-editing often backfires. When a woman’s tone or presence feels overly cautious, her ideas may not gain traction even when they are valuable. Authenticity, therefore, becomes not just a moral principle but a practical necessity. When you stop performing and start aligning your actions with your purpose, people trust you more because they sense coherence.
Authenticity also challenges the notion that leadership must look or sound a certain way. It allows introverts to lead quietly, empathetic professionals to lead collaboratively, and technical experts to lead through evidence and curiosity rather than charisma. The more diverse the expressions of authenticity, the stronger organisations become.
The Framework For Authentic Influence
One of the clearest frameworks for building authentic influence comes from Carolyn Brand, a respected Personal Branding Consultant, Growth Strategist, and international speaker. Carolyn has more than 25 years of leadership experience across global corporations, startups, and entrepreneurial ventures. She has worked with professionals and teams across Europe to help them embrace authenticity as a core business strategy rather than an afterthought.
At the heart of her teaching is the 4P Framework | Persona, Purpose, Positioning, and Presence. Each element represents a pillar of personal branding built on authenticity rather than artifice.
- Persona refers to how you are perceived, the external impression others form about you. Carolyn emphasises that managing your persona is not about manipulation; it is about clarity. If you do not define your professional identity, others will define it for you.
- Purpose is the foundation. It represents your internal compass: what drives you, what you value, and what you want to achieve. Women who are clear about their purpose project confidence effortlessly because their communication is anchored in meaning, not performance.
- Positioning involves articulating your expertise in a way that resonates with your audience. It is about connecting your strengths to the needs of others, transforming skill into service. Carolyn teaches that influence grows when your positioning reflects authenticity — when your message aligns with what you truly offer.
- Presence ties it all together. This is not about showmanship but about consistency. Presence means showing up the same way whether you are presenting to a board, mentoring a colleague, or engaging online. When presence reflects authenticity, it builds trust and authority simultaneously.
From Performance To Presence
During the discussion in the Authenticity & Influence session, Carolyn reflected on her own experiences of navigating male-dominated spaces. She shared moments of being the only woman in executive meetings and the pressure she once felt to adapt her voice to fit others’ expectations. Over time, she discovered that authenticity was not a limitation but a differentiator. By embracing her own leadership style, one rooted in empathy, clarity, and confidence, she built stronger relationships and achieved more meaningful results.
Her message resonated deeply with participants. Many admitted to feeling caught between two identities, the person they are and the persona they think they need to project. Through guided reflection exercises, Carolyn helped them identify what authenticity means in their own professional context. Comments such as “Act even if you hesitate” and “I will study English to feel free in communication, it’s my own brand” illustrated the empowerment that arises when women give themselves permission to be whole rather than edited.
Carolyn also addressed one of the most persistent challenges women face: being mislabelled for showing confidence. When confidence in women is perceived as arrogance, she explained, it says more about the observer than the speaker. The solution lies not in shrinking but in reframing. By connecting actions to purpose and communicating with calm consistency, women can redefine confidence on their own terms.
Authenticity As A Catalyst For Change
Authenticity has ripple effects that extend beyond individual careers. When women model authenticity in leadership, they challenge outdated assumptions about what competence looks like. They demonstrate that success does not require conformity but courage. This influence spreads through teams, organisations, and even entire industries. It shifts focus from image management to impact creation.
For women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, authenticity has an added dimension. In environments still dominated by traditional hierarchies, authenticity becomes a bridge between expertise and empathy. It humanises innovation and makes leadership more inclusive. When a woman in STEM leads with authenticity, she gives others permission to do the same — proving that excellence and empathy are not opposites but allies.
Learning To Lead Without Compromise
The Authenticity & Influence: Personal Branding Strategies for Women webinar, organised by The Women in Stem Network the National Network of Ukrainian Educational Hubs brought together women from across the world to explore the intersection of self-awareness and influence.
Carolyn’s approach blends professional insight with personal empathy. She helps women craft personal brands that support both career advancement and cultural change. Her work reminds participants that personal branding is not vanity, it is strategy. It is how women claim visibility in systems that often overlook quiet competence.
Participants left the session with a renewed understanding of how authenticity can fuel growth, not hinder it. The most memorable message from Carolyn was that you do not need to perform confidence when you live it. When your actions match your values, your influence is felt naturally.
Watch The Webinar On Demand
The conversation around authenticity is too important to be left behind after one session. For those who missed it live, the full webinar is now available to watch on demand. It offers practical insights, reflection exercises, and powerful stories that help women discover how to lead with authenticity, articulate their strengths, and communicate their purpose.
Watch here: https://womeninstemnetwork.com/on-demand-training/
About The Speaker
Carolyn Brand is a Personal Branding Consultant, Growth Strategist, and international speaker who helps professionals and teams unlock their potential and elevate their leadership presence. Through her signature 4P Framework — Persona, Purpose, Positioning, and Presence — she empowers individuals to define their authentic voice, communicate with confidence, and achieve meaningful influence. Carolyn has delivered masterclasses and workshops for women in business and leadership networks across Europe, inspiring professionals to build brands that reflect both competence and compassion.
Contact Carolyn:
Website: www.carolyn-brand.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/carolyn-brand-the-empowerer-34b49716