Social Media is Making Leaders Lose Their Reality

Thirty years ago, a leader's struggle will remain relatively private today. Everything is documented, screenshotted and potentially viral. Research published in Harvard business review in 2022 examined what they called curated authenticity on professional platforms. It was found that 73% of executives admitted their LinkedIn presence bore little resemblance to their actual day to day leadership experience. They termed this as the identity dissonance, a measurable gap between public Persona and private reality. I've worked with leaders who are terrified to post Anything authentic on LinkedIn because it might be seen as unprofessional, who won't share challenges because competitors might perceive weakness, who maintain perfectly curated personal brands that have nothing to do with their actual experience. Here's the insidious part. This performance becomes so habitual that eventually you lose touch with your own reality.