The Word of the Year. Authentic. Do we still know what it means?

“Dare to declare who you are. It is not far from the shores of silence to the boundaries of speech. The path is not long, but the way is deep. You must not only walk there, you must be prepared to leap.” –

Hildegard Von Bingen

Is this authenticity? What is authentic?

Let’s go to the source, shall we because ooohh, how I love a good definition.

Since last Monday’s announcement about the word of the year, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.

Authentic.

The word is selected for the number of times it appears in search and well, what a year it was for this word.

In the advertising, media and marketing business we have used (potentially overly-used) the word for years around the notion of making real connections with consumers and the importance of that in building relationships that build brand affinity, loyalty and ultimately the choice to purchase. The explosion of influencers and the creator economy became the next qualifier for what does authentic connections mean? How do they relate to their audiences, how do brands play a role, when is it authentic and when is it forced?

In this context though, cracks started to show. Words like DNA, values and essence set the table for words like authentic or authenticity for the extrapolation of words like pure or genuine. While words like belief of conforming to swirl in the actual definition. Perception is reality, what’s real and what’s not?

Having spent the better part of my career in some version of storytelling not just for with and and brands but in my own personal writing on “Mynewfavoriteday,” I have struggled with the proliferation of the word. Personally, at the intersection of what feels like a dilution of meaning based on how often it’s used and reconciling that emotionally of what I believe its meaning so much so that I have mostly stopped using it professionally, defaulting to words such as genuine, true or honest.

When everyone is using the word authentic can everything possibly be so authentic? That’s the question.

In 2023, the masses of Americans agreed and searched the term up so many times that it became Miriam Webster’s word of the year. But why the big increase?

AI, Deep Fake, Taylor Swift, ChatGPT, social media and pop culture all provoking conversation around performative vs real. Authentic voice, depiction, representation, connection all being explored to understand our curiosity and desire to know if we can believe what we see and hear.

Speculation abounds. But if perception is reality then we are at the cross roads of authentic being open to interpretation. I believe authentic is a feeling. You head cannot tell you what authenticity is, only your heart and your intuition.

How do you feel when you are deeply within yourself? Perhaps having come out of experiences that often exist somewhere between the silence of feelings and thoughts and our ability to speak and live them. From the challenging experiences becoming our greatest opportunities to find gratitude for who we are becoming, who we have with us on the journey and the experiences and opportunities we have…even when they are hard.

The word authentic self is being used all the time, but if you deeper than the word I believe it’s about who you are, what you stand for and how you show up in the world. Noone can really define or tell you what’s actually authentic because you have to perceive it for yourself and then choose. Sometimes we get it wrong.

In 2013, I did my first content strategy for a brand. I didn’t really know exactly what I was doing or why I wanted to do it, but having been in sales and storytelling in Branded Content and experiences for Fortune 500 brands and massive commercially successful shows like American Idol, America’s Got Talent, The Apprentice, Contender and Rockstar, among many others, I quickly learned the success of brands is to understand your own brand values. How can they be articulated in what they are what they are not. How does that behavior show up in the world and how are you creating real value for the person you are trying to connect with in that moment. This where you all can see the true intersection of great leaders and how they steward these values into culture.

What I so appreciate so much in the last few years with all that has happened in the world is that so many people and brands are standing in their truth. Letting people behind the curtain of how we are supposed to be and into the space for who we are. We have been in one another’s homes via Zoom, we have met one another’s children and pets. We see their laundry on the table, hear dogs barking and we laugh together as we all forget how to take ourselves off mute. In these moments we get to be who we are as our real selves.

No matter the context, I think authenticity lives in a world of curiosity and understanding. Not rushing, not trying to contrive a situation or experience for someone including yourself. Just to be and understand the path does not have to be long but it is deep.

Where we can see this in great leadership. The people who have been to the depths not typically because things were going great but because life had a plan to show you who you are what you are made of as a path to understanding your purpose. Most often we never know what someone is going through when they are going through it but if we are paying attention we can see it when they come out on the other side.

My personal journey is one of discovery and understanding. From my experiences with my children I was pushed, pulled and shoved in a reconciliation with myself. This parlayed itself into every area of my life. A series of disruptive events in life taking me deeper into self. Hiding in my work was my identity, my source and the place where felt safe, but it wasn’t until I left what I thought would be my dream job as the Chief Marketing Officer The Honest Company that a full circle introspection. My safe space had been disrupted and I felt sad, I felt like I had failed and I felt like I had let myself and everyone down. It was in this place I had to fully reconcile the difference between ego and confidence, between what others think about me and I what I thought other people thought, and what I felt that meant for who I was to myself and others. It was in this place I could finally be free.

It was here that started the other work. What did I want in absence of titles and status. What made me excited, how did I want to feel in my job, what were the specific things I love to do and light me up. Strategy, making connections, building things, being creative, connecting people for the purpose of creating a relationship and value for others, doing work that is purposeful and lives in service of a greater good, cultural good energy….all of these things became my guiding light and how I knew I could thrive.

Our authentic self is the one that can bring all of these together. We talk about imposter syndrome a lot but this exercise is one where you can also value yourself and be grateful so that you don’t feel like an imposter.

With so much transition going on in the tech, media, advertising, marketing space and the world, there is a lot of searching literally and metaphorically. Lately, having spent a lot of time chatting with people recently as they look for their next opportunity, this word authentic is the one that always comes up. My counsel is to make the list, do the work, find something you love to do, recognize the feeling of what brings you excitement, joy, and alive. Being honest with yourself about what you are good at, what you love, where you might stretch, what gives you all the feels, not for your ego but because it brings you joy.. And even though my kids think I am a little “woo woo,” I believe that once you are clear, the Universe knows what to bring you and then it’s up you to act and be open.

Authenticity waiting in your own curiosity and understanding is real. It’s genuine and it’s here where the feeling is of the word of the yea exists. Dare to declare who you are for yourself and to yourself, it can unlock a world of possibility you didn’t know existed.

If you have thoughts on Authenticity, what is means to you, how you think you see, feel, experience it in the world whether, personal or professional, I would love to hear! Sharing is caring!

Happy Holidays! All the warm and fuzzies for the Season. ❤️ Shannon