"5 tips to being an authentic, servant leader with an extra serve of EQ."

“I can’t find you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You no longer come up.”
“On LinkedIn?”
“Yep, even when I search you.”

I’m in a car. The fancyish one my sister drives. Japanese. That looks a bit like the bat-mobile. Except hers is electric blue. Which gives me hope.

Discussing my most recent article. Which she hasn’t seen. Turns out, my posts no longer come up on her page.

I investigate. Against my better judgement. After putting it off for weeks.

Truth is, It’s a fear thing. If I’m totally honest. I don’t want to be attached. To the numbers, the likes, the comments. What people think.

Or worse.

What they don’t. The lack of all of those things.

Reality is, I don’t want to sound like you. I don’t want to sound like Claude. I don’t want to sound like anyone else. For the first time in my life, I want to sound

Like. Me.

But.

The algorithms don’t.

Because, I write about old men in a potato aisles. And that being leadership. For me.

I write about moments of human connection. When someone needed to be seen, listened to. Heard. And that’s philanthropy and empathy. For me.

Have I considered changing tact? Writing about "5 Leadership Lessons from a Grocery Store?” Yes. But does it feel like a soul-level-sell-out. And a trade I cannot afford to make.

Yes.

And will those posts more likely go viral.

Yes. 100X.

But I have consciously chosen to no longer promote, perform. Or pretend.

I have consciously chosen to be.

Me.

I don’t want to explain empathy. I want to demonstrate it. I don’t want to promote vulnerability, I want to be it. I don’t want to discuss leadership, I want you to witness it. In action. In real time.

IRL.

Could I craft a masterclass in: "I failed! Here's what I learned for business success, so you don’t have to!" Yes. But am I committed to using my hard-worn experiences of failures and successes, in all its messy glory so you no longer feel so alone, shameful or bad about it?

Yes. 1000x

And will these posts more likely go viral.

Most definitely. Not.

Why? Algorithms rewards promotion, performance and pretence because it's safe, digestible, shareable. "Look how authentic I'm being!" with perfect lighting, fake nails and forced humility.

Algorithms aren’t coded to categorise the rawness of humanness. The critical nature of connection. They know what to do with "thought leadership." But not with actual human thinking and IRL humans leading.

I've learnt my writing, like my leadership makes people uncomfortable. Primarily because it embraces the mess and invites in, the real. With no bow or pat on the head at the end. No "5 tips to being an authentic, servant leader with an extra serve of EQ."

My role isn’t the tutor or lecturer. It’s the student. I'm not here to teach but to share what I am being taught.

An algorithm will never understand this. So, my sister can't find me on LinkedIn anymore.

But you did.

And that means I’m still here.

Whether someone likes it, or not.

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