in the guise of authenticity

English translation: in an attempt to appear true/real/authentic

17:18 Jun 21, 2016
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Management
English term or phrase: in the guise of authenticity
Hello everyone,

From the book about how to become a successful leader.

No one wants to lose herself in the process of change, yet the only way to start thinking like a leader is to act like one, even when it feels inauthentic at first. This chapter shows how you can stop straitjacketing your identity in the guise of authenticity***. The outsight you gain from trying to be someone you’re not (yet) helps you more than any introspection about the leader you might become.

Although I'm faniliar with the phrase "under/in the guise of" I can't understand what it means in the context above.
How can someone's identity pretend to be "authenticity" or look like authenticity?

Does "in the guise of authenticity" really imply "within the framework/limits of authenticity"?

Thank you.
Mikhail Korolev
Local time: 03:16
Selected answer:in an attempt to appear true/real/authentic
Explanation:
Yes, it is convoluted but this is how I read this...a bit different from others, so I've broken it into segments to try and tease out the meaning

"No one wants to lose herself in the process of change= no one wants to lose sight of themselves while undergoing change

"yet the only way to start thinking like a leader is to act like one, even when it feels inauthentic at first"=BUT you have to act like a leader if you want to think like one...even though this may seem "fake" as if you're acting a role and not being true to your real self.

"This chapter shows how you can stop straitjacketing your identity in the guise of authenticity"= this chapter will show you how you can stop restricting/confining your own identity, hoping by so doing you appear "authentic" or "real"

"The outsight you gain from trying to be someone you’re not (yet)"=By gaining a clear overview/experience of the person/persona you are trying to become

"helps you more than any introspection about the leader you might become."=is going to help you become that leader much faster than introspection alone

So, in summary, by acting like a leader you will start thinking like one and achieve your objective faster, without having to restrain yourself by acting according to your (supposed) character


http://www.dictionary.com/browse/outsight
the ability to see and understand external things clearly.

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Note added at 2 days20 hrs (2016-06-24 14:09:38 GMT) Post-grading
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Glad to have helped
Selected response from:

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 00:16
Grading comment
Many thanks to everyone.

Thank you, Gallagy.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +1let your identity get out of the straitjacket you are creating for it by being true to yourself
Daryo
3 +1within the framework / limits of authenticity
Jean-Claude Gouin
4in the name of / dressed up as authenticity
B D Finch
2 +1puposely throtteling one's own identity
Jonathan MacKerron
3in an attempt to appear true/real/authentic
Yvonne Gallagher


Discussion entries: 10





  

Answers


18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
puposely throtteling one's own identity


Explanation:
in order to appear authentic in the eyes of others, is my take...

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Note added at 19 mins (2016-06-21 17:38:21 GMT)
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i.e.: faking one's true identity

Jonathan MacKerron
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  acetran
2 days 10 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
within the framework / limits of authenticity


Explanation:
*

Jean-Claude Gouin
Canada
Local time: 20:16
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  acetran
2 days 8 hrs
  -> Thank you acetran ...
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
stop straitjacketing your identity in the guise of authenticity
let your identity get out of the straitjacket you are creating for it by being true to yourself


Explanation:
or more precisely

let your identity get out of the straitjacket you are creating for it by being true to your [present/current/soon to be past] self

cessez d'emprisonner votre identité dans la camisole de votre "vrai moi"

the "straitjacket" is in the limitations you are imposing on yourself by being "true to yourself" IOW you have to step outside of those limits.

"in the guise of" here doesn't mean "external appearance" but "in the form of" i.e. your [present] "true self" is taking the shape of/is acting as a straitjacket

unsurprisingly, the explanation is in the previous sentence:

No one wants to lose herself in the process of change, yet the only way to start thinking like a leader is to act like one, even when it feels inauthentic at first.

reminds me of a good reply to anyone objecting to you changing your opinion about something:

"Am I supposed to be slave for life of my own opinions?"

cessez d'emprisonner votre identité dans la camisole de votre "vrai moi"


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Note added at 14 hrs (2016-06-22 08:02:39 GMT)
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delete last line

Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:16
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Yasutomo Kanazawa
58 mins
  -> Thanks!
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22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
in the name of / dressed up as authenticity


Explanation:
As I read this convoluted text, the author is trying to say that the reader should liberate their identity from the straitjacket imposed by fear of trying new approaches and enable it to develop. The "straitjacket" is justified by the person claiming that the way they currently behave is their authentic identity and to change that would be inauthentic.

They cling to the limitations they have adopted and that act as a straitjacket, defending those limitations as being their authentic persona, when their authentic persona might be capable of change and growth.

OMG! Does that sound like self-help waffle?!

B D Finch
France
Local time: 01:16
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Daryo: Does that sound like self-help waffle?! yes it does - but it's roughly the idea.
1 day 10 hrs
  -> It's a different idea though from your suggestion and both cannot be right.
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10 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
in an attempt to appear true/real/authentic


Explanation:
Yes, it is convoluted but this is how I read this...a bit different from others, so I've broken it into segments to try and tease out the meaning

"No one wants to lose herself in the process of change= no one wants to lose sight of themselves while undergoing change

"yet the only way to start thinking like a leader is to act like one, even when it feels inauthentic at first"=BUT you have to act like a leader if you want to think like one...even though this may seem "fake" as if you're acting a role and not being true to your real self.

"This chapter shows how you can stop straitjacketing your identity in the guise of authenticity"= this chapter will show you how you can stop restricting/confining your own identity, hoping by so doing you appear "authentic" or "real"

"The outsight you gain from trying to be someone you’re not (yet)"=By gaining a clear overview/experience of the person/persona you are trying to become

"helps you more than any introspection about the leader you might become."=is going to help you become that leader much faster than introspection alone

So, in summary, by acting like a leader you will start thinking like one and achieve your objective faster, without having to restrain yourself by acting according to your (supposed) character


http://www.dictionary.com/browse/outsight
the ability to see and understand external things clearly.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days20 hrs (2016-06-24 14:09:38 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to have helped

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 00:16
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 51
Grading comment
Many thanks to everyone.

Thank you, Gallagy.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Daryo: what the text is saying is: in an attempt to remain true/real/authentic
4 hrs
  -> I disagree with your reading
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