Why authenticity is not a luxury—it’s the foundation of sustainable leadership
I once worked with an executive who had everything on paper: prestige, financial success, and recognition. But privately, she once admitted: ‘I feel like I’m role playing every day. If I drop the mask, what if I discover people don’t actually respect or care about me?’
Her confession struck me because it revealed something I see constantly: leaders trapped behind masks. The mask of always being strong, of perfection, of ‘everything is under control’; in reality, these masks slowly drain vitality, creativity, and trust.
The Price of Wearing Masks
As Spanish author Borja Vilaseca explains, unfortunately modern society encourages us to live with masks to be accepted, admired, or simply tolerated. We internalize scripts from family, culture, and corporate systems until we can no longer distinguish between who we are and the roles we perform. German psychoanalyst Erich Fromm called this “the pathology of normalcy” (Fromm, 1991) the quiet sickness of fitting-in at the cost of authenticity: pathologically adapting to an unhealthy society and systems of alienation, consumerism, and conformity.
In leadership, masks carry heavy costs:
- Teams sense inauthenticity, even if it’s never spoken.
- Leaders burn out from sustaining personas that don’t reflect their inner truth.
- Decision-making gets distorted, as choices are filtered through image rather than integrity.
In other words: masks may help you survive, but they prevent you from thriving.
Invisible Toxins in Leadership
It’s not just the masks leaders wear that hurt organizations, it’s the invisible toxins that often accompany them. Many of such toxins are subtle: lack of recognition, devaluation, exclusion, or coldness. They may not show up in official metrics, but they slowly corrode trust.
In organizations, these almost invisible micro-aggressions can look like:
- A culture where criticism is constant, but praise is absent.
- Unspoken hierarchies that isolate people rather than include them.
- Subtle moods of cynicism or disdain that spread like a virus.
Vilaseca reminds us that ‘culture shapes identity’. And the widely famous father or modern management, Peter Drucker, rightfully taught us that ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’. What both point to is that no matter how brilliant the strategy, if the organizational cultural is poisoned by invisible toxins, execution sooner or later collapses.
When invisible toxicity becomes normalized, it molds how people show up, not just at work, but also in their personal lives.
A Story of Removing the Mask
One of my clients, a regional director, carried the mask of toughness for years. Everyone saw him as confident, decisive, and always in control. But inside, he was exhausted. His team described him as intimidating, not because he shouted, but because he never showed vulnerability.
During our sessions, he admitted he had equated authenticity and vulnerability with weakness. Slowly, he experimented with showing more of himself. He began acknowledging when he didn’t have all the answers. He practiced listening instead of always performing or fixing. The results were remarkable: his team began to engage and take full accountability; they became proactive and started contributing more freely and deeper.
By removing the mask, he didn’t lose authority, he gained trust and influence.
The Courage to Be Authentic
Authenticity in leadership isn’t about spilling every emotion or abandoning professionalism. It’s about alignment. It’s ensuring that the way you lead matches who you truly are.
This requires courage. Authenticity means confronting the possibility of rejection. But it also means inviting real trust, real creativity, and real transformation.
You might think masks keep you ‘safe,’ but in reality, they keep you and your team stuck.
What This Means for Leaders Today
In a world that prizes performance and image, authenticity is often misunderstood as optional. It’s not. Authenticity is the foundation of sustainable leadership.
If you’re leading behind a mask, you’re carrying an invisible weight. If your culture tolerates invisible toxins, you’re eroding the very trust that fuels growth.
The leaders of tomorrow are not those who wear the thickest armor. They are those who dare to be aligned, transparent, and human.
Want to Explore This Further?
At Re·Thrivin’™, we help leaders dismantle masks and confront the invisible dynamics holding them back. Together, we uncover the hidden patterns in identity and culture so you can lead with clarity, trust, and authentic strength.
Because thriving doesn’t come from perfection. It comes from truth.
References Vilaseca, B. (2013, March 10). Vivir sin máscaras. El Pais.
Vilaseca, B. (2012, November 18). La influencia de la cultura organizacional. El Pais.
Editorial. (2014, June 22). Malos tratos invisibles. El Pais.