Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated

by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

The surprising science of why being authentic holds you back—from the author of Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (and How to Fix It).

"Just be yourself" might be the worst advice you've ever received.

For years, we've been told that authenticity is the key to success—that we should be true to ourselves, tune out others' opinions, and lead with unwavering genuineness. This feel-good message has spawned countless self-help books, leadership seminars, and viral social media posts.

There's just one science says it's wrong.

Drawing on decades of research, renowned psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic reveals an uncomfortable our obsession with authenticity is backfiring. From Silicon Valley's authenticity worship to failed diversity programs, he exposes how our fixation on "true selves" undermines both individual and organizational success, not to mention empathy and prosocial behavior.

The most successful people aren't those who rigidly "stay true to themselves"—they're the ones who adapt and evolve, largely by paying a great deal of attention to how others see them and adjusting their behavior to the requirements of each situation. The evidence is when we focus less on expressing our authentic selves and more on understanding others, we don't just advance our careers—we become better

Our moral compass strengthens.Our emotional intelligence deepens.Our leadership abilities soar.Our relationships flourish.Our personal growth accelerates.

Blending cutting-edge psychology with razor-sharp cultural critique, Don't Be Yourself doesn't just challenge conventional wisdom—it offers a playbook for long-lasting career success.

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction, Business, Self Help

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is an international authority in psychological profiling, talent management, and people analytics. He is the CEO of Hogan Assessment Systems, Professor of Business Psychology at University College London (UCL), and visiting Professor at Columbia University. He has previously taught at New York University and the London School of Economics.

He has published 8 books and over 120 scientific papers (h index 41), making him one of the most prolific social scientists of his generation. His work has received awards by the American Psychological Association and the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences.

He is also the director of UCL's Industrial-Organisational and Business Psychology programme, and an Associate with Harvard's Entrepreneurial Finance Lab.

Over the past 15 years, he has consulted to a range of clients in financial services (JP Morgan, HSBC, Prudential), advertising (Havas, Fallon, BBH), media (Yahoo!, MTV, Endemol), consumer goods (Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser), fashion (LVMH, Net-a-Porter), and government (British Army, Royal Mail, National Health Service).

His media career comprises over 70 TV appearances, including the BBC, CNN, and Sky, and regular features in Harvard Business Review, the Guardian, Fast Company, Forbes, and the Huffington Post. He is a keynote speaker for the Institute of Economic Affairs and the co-founder of metaprofiling.com, a digital start-up that enables organisations to identify individuals with entrepreneurial talent. He lives in New York.

Reviews

[Srinivasan Tatachari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to HBR press and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this upcoming book, SInce I have been a researcher in the area of organizational behaviour this is a topic close to my area. I have seen a lot of criticism on leadership theories like authentic leadership in the academic literature so I was keen to read this book which is clearly aimed at the practitioners.

I found the book very insightful and well argued in terms of questioning a lot of the authentic leadership theses. Tomas lays out clear reasons to be careful about being authentic in the introduction which sets the stage for the four authentic leadership traps in later chapters. Each of the traps such as "just be yourself" are very clearly unfurled in terms of implications when followed in the truest sense. I could not help but connect with the recent leaders who acted like this in public spaces and had to face severe consequences personally and also impacted their organizations (I am alluding to Andy Byron's Coldplay fallout and Piotr Szczerek's behaviour at the ongoing US Open championship), I could clearly apply what Tomas was arguing in both these situations and really did not make sense for these leaders to "just be themselves" in public space.

Similarly he brings three other traps into fair amount of scrutiny, before finally turning to a section on how we can behave instead, to make sure we are able to advance our career, become better at leadership (which is very important since this is about authentic leadership primarily), and the implications for DEI processes at the organization.

The book is very practical and useful, however the one big peeve (and hence dropped a star in the rating) I had while reading it was the complex and long sentences used fairly frequently which made me read it couple of times to make sense.. but I can see why that may be happening since the topic itself is a bit complex to explain... Here is merely one such sentence:
"Being internally secure can help you pretend that you are externally insecure or self-critical, which will get others to like you more, not least because they will assume that you are actually better than you think you are- even if this isn't true, but it is never really possible to be sure about this (and perceptions trump reality)."

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Don’t Be Yourself, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic explored the topics of authenticity and stated how this key word has been searched on Google one million times in the last five years alone. It has been discovered that studies have found if you have a more authentic self-rating, you are likely to have more job and relationship satisfaction. He covered the four traps we are faced with such as always be honest with yourself, follow your heart, stop worrying about what others think, and bring yourself to work. He discussed career advancement and enclosed sample job interview questions and how to answer them. These included biggest weakness, where you see yourself in five years, how you handle criticism, and much more. He tries to help you align your experiences and traits positivity with your employee’s values and this could assist you in obtaining the job offer. He looked at leadership and how it affects our authenticity. He shared how the saying just be yourself can give us a false sense and provide us with a narcissistic mindset. He explained how a great leader will help other build and grow and develop their desire to more about the group instead of themselves.


This book is an excellent look about the dangers of being ourselves and authenticity. I enjoyed the interview sessions questions and how he explored the different areas and types of them. I appreciated the covering of the topic of leadership and this a great reminder where people can improve their leadership styles and care more about others in the process. I liked how he touched on how management tends to hire more people who align with their own shared values. This book was very interesting to read about how to handle authenticity.

[Chris M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author does a great job challenging some common cliches in pop psychology such as radical honesty and not caring about what others think of you. In society, people tend to romanticize the notion of free-thinking innovators like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk who went against the grain of cultural norms and expectations to produce great products. What people don't realize is that for every Steve Jobs, there are countless other people with the same traits that struggle to hold down a job despite having high potential.

Unless you plan to work for yourself, you will need to learn the social skills necessary to work with others in a civil way, and that point is hard to dispute. He also mentioned that job interviews are mostly about determining whether or not you have the social skills needed to be a cultural fit at a given organization.

The only negative part about the book was that some explanations were long-winded and drawn out. I understood the concepts of the chapter, but still has another 30 minutes for the chapter within the audiobook version. I would still recommend overall.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always thought that the admonition to "just be yourself" doesn't make sense in the workplace context. Chamorro-Premuzic agrees whole-heartedly. There are definitely some... interesting examples given in this book.
And a lot of these examples do make sense. How showing up authentically as a leader is a proof of privilege or how authenticity can be lost if a diversity program is not set up correctly. The author also tells us about the four authenticity traps and how to avoid them.
Overall, the end of the story is not to be inauthentic but to show up as your best self. That may mean faking it some days. He argues that focusing on emotional intelligence will help you more and that if you learn to understand your coworkers, it will create a better work environment.

[Sunny Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, counterintuitive take on one of today’s most overused ideas.

Tomas challenges the myth of “just be yourself” with sharp evidence, humor, and practical insoghts.

Instead of celebrating our flaws as authenticity, he suggests how real growth comes from self-awareness, adaptability, and striving to be better.

A must-read for anyone serious about personal or leadership development!

[Leah]

This book addressed the exact topic that I could not adequately convey to my former therapist that I struggle with at work—so for that I loved it. I was also immensely frustrated by the author’s definition of authenticity as some staunch and crude thing without any nuance or dynamism at all (Can one not authentically have a growth mindset?). So, I am simply unable to rate this book.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good points--focus on empathy and understanding others rather than demonstrating your authentic self at work. Be a better version of yourself. Unfortunately the author repeats these points over and over and over again for 212 pages. Perhaps the generative AI he thanks in the acknowledgments insisted...