Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

So I think the how...

varies a lot.

And also, even if you look at certain things like how hierarchical cultures are, interest in diversity, inclusion, which is changing even in the same place as you, you know, go from one year to the next.

So I think the how and culture vary a lot, but the what and the why are basically universal.

it's a little bit like, you know, how spicy do you like your food?

Or, you know, I mean, if you have no salt, no pepper, no condiments, it'd be like blunt and like airplane food.

But then, you know, I have a lot of Mexican friends and Indian friends.

And if I don't give them the Tabasco or the chili, they're like, this is very plain, right?

So it's how direct you can be is a little bit like how spicy do you want your food?

The universal bits are really important because

Anywhere in the world, if you want to be an effective leader, you have to be seen as authentic by others.

Now, there's no way to know whether that perception that other people have of you is accurate or not.

But what's interesting, if you look at the research, is that the people who are seen as authentic

actually are really good at impression management.

They have high emotional intelligence, they know how to self edit.

And most most important of all, they know where the right to be themselves ends, and their obligation to others begins.

And what makes you trust somebody, whether they're a leader, a coworker, or I would even say a spouse, is not whether they are brutally honest, but whether they are safe, reliable, and predictable.

In the end, we have to read between the lines and we have to

care about others, and then you still have a lot of leeway and room to be you.

And you're always going to be you and not other people.