Authenticity & oversharing

I normally don’t like this sort of short and peppy business advice article, but there’s an important point in There Is A Clear Line Between Oversharing And Being Authentic – Here’s How To Avoid Crossing It:

An attempt to fast-track the relationship. Authentic people build relationships first. Over-sharers blurt out personal information in an attempt to gain a sense of intimacy, without building trust.

The modern workplace is set up in precisely the opposite way. We’re often expected to overshare, talk about our personal lives, and any reluctance to do so is a mark of not being a team player.

And yet it’s working together in a neutral space that allows strong professional relationships to slowly build up and flourish, in their own time.

Very little makes me more uncomfortable than being expected to “share” with some person that I’ve known for five minutes, which I suppose might sound odd considering how much I write online. I think the difference is that I don’t expect anyone to read my ramblings, in fact the vast majority of my colleagues have no idea I even have a blog. Work meetings, on the other hand, are captive audiences.