“Be Yourself” Is Bad Advice
When you are in a place where perception matters, act as if you are always under observation. Especially in organisations or environments where an opinion can shape your future, it is important to influence that opinion through deliberate mannerisms.
“Be yourself” is poor advice because, for those who are often misunderstood in initial impressions, it can backfire in ways that harm them. You cannot be yourself in every context and every environment. Besides, what if you are mediocre? Assuming you are not, it is still better to be cautious before you reveal your true shade of personality.
Assuming you are always under observation, always being noticed, how would you behave? What are the things you wouldn’t do? What are the things you would do? How would you react in different situations? I am saying this because that is what happens in most corporate offices. You have no idea who is observing you or at what point in the day. You cannot keep track of it, so assume that when you are in such places, you are under observation.
Only a handful of people will ever truly know you by coming close to you. The rest will form opinions based on what they see of you. Think about this: the majority of opinions are based on perception, not actual data. So why not influence that perception directly instead of constantly trying to justify who you are? It doesn’t matter who you are as long as you are successfully portraying an image of who you want to be.
This is not a recommendation to become somebody else. Simply elevate the parts of yourself that are good and deliberately display the mannerisms you want others to notice. If you want people to think you are level-headed, act like it. If you want people to see that you are good at maintaining relationships, start talking to people, be a good listener, and let them do the rest.
Once you understand how easy it is to sway public opinion by following simple tactics, you will never need to rely on apple-polishing, manipulation, or lies about yourself. Anybody who is a darling of the authorities should be carefully evaluated based on the perception they are creating in the eyes of those authorities.
Nobody cares who you are; everybody cares about themselves. Even when they are considering you for a promotion, they are thinking about themselves. They are demonstrating that they have selected the most ideal candidate, that they have an eye for talent and judgment. So build the perception you want people to have of you instead of relying on silly advice like “be yourself.”