Lessons on authenticity from the 2026 Winter Olympics
Like many people recently, I’ve been watching the Winter Olympics. The level of commitment and expertise on show is always incredible. And of course, at this level, there is relentless pressure.
Two athletes really stood out for me: Alyssa Liu and Eileen Gu. There’s been a lot of buzz about them online. What caught my attention, however, was something less obvious. It was the visible alignment between who they are and how they compete.
Watching Alyssa Liu skate with such lightness and freedom was uplifting. Seeing Eileen Gu speak with such clarity and conviction about her values and choices was equally striking. Both athletes competed on one of the biggest stages in the world, under intense scrutiny, and remained fully themselves.
That level of authenticity under pressure does not happen by accident.
What is authenticity?
In psychology terms, being fully authentic means that what you think and feel is consistent with your actions. Your internal experience matches your external expression.
In high-stakes professional environments, that alignment is often compromised.
Many leaders hide aspects of themselves, either deliberately or without realising. They edit themselves in meetings. They suppress feelings of frustration. They present a composed exterior while managing significant internal pressure.
Some of this is necessary professionalism. The problem is that over time, when the gap between how you feel inside and how you show up outside becomes too wide, it becomes incongruence. Incongruence creates a lot of strain and is ultimately unsustainable.
Maintaining a ‘professional’ version of yourself that feels misaligned needs a great deal of cognitive and emotional energy. In high-stakes industries with high expectations and significant consequences, the additional strain of incongruence heavily contributes to burnout, disengagement, and reactive decision-making.
At this point, performance and wellbeing start to deteriorate.
Why incongruence increases under pressure
Incongruence at work usually starts as self-protection. We project calm and confidence to feel safe, or meet expectations, when we feel vulnerable or unsure.
In high-pressure environments, three fears become intensified:
Fear of judgment: leaders worry that showing emotions or vulnerability will undermine their credibility. They believe that to be taken seriously, they need to present a polished, controlled, emotionally-neutral version of themselves at all times. This fear keeps people from speaking up, sharing ideas or admitting when they don’t know something.
Fear of rejection: humans are wired for social belonging and connection. In competitive or high-performing cultures, the risk of exclusion can feel very costly. This leads to silence when we disagree, compliance over challenge, or masking parts of our identity to conform.
Fear of failure: when the stakes are high, our tolerance for risk tends to naturally drop. Leaders default to playing it safe. They avoid innovation. They focus on avoiding mistakes and meeting expectations rather than creating value. This fear keeps leaders small and stuck, and limits their potential.
Each one of these fear responses is totally normal and understandable. The problem is, while we believe we are protecting ourselves, the reality is that over time, this incongruence weakens trust, reduces engagement and limits performance capacity.
Pressure acts like a magnifying glass: it can amplify these patterns and reactions.
What these athletes demonstrate
Watching Alyssa Liu and Eileen Gu reminded me of the many benefits of alignment and authenticity.
Authenticity creates positive emotion that ripples out to other people
Seeing the absolute joy and lightheartedness of Alyssa Liu's performance was so uplifting. She was so genuinely having a fantastic time on the ice. Watching her have an awesome time instantly lifted my mood too! Positive emotions are contagious. At work, when leaders show up with authenticity, that positive energy ripples out to their teams and creates a more engaged, motivated environment.
Authenticity makes you magnetic
We can detect, even at a subconscious level, when people are being incongruent and wearing a mask. We are naturally drawn to people who are authentic, and authenticity leads to higher trust and better relationships. Of course, this matters in business too. So much success at work depends on building genuine and high-quality relationships, whether it is negotiating with stakeholders, collaborating with colleagues or selling to customers.
Authentic people make for inspiring role models
In a press conference, Eileen Gu said: "Be the person your eight year old self would look up to." That is authenticity in action. When you live in alignment with your values and show up as yourself, you inspire other people to do the same. Leaders who model authenticity give their teams permission to be authentic too.
Authenticity fuels achievement at the highest level
It’s not a case of authenticity OR achievement. Many people assume there’s a conflict between being authentic and achieving at a high level. Alyssa Liu and Eileen Gu have shown us that this is most certainly not the case. Authenticity and achievement go hand in hand.
Authenticity takes the pressure off the outcome
Alyssa Liu talked about how her return to skating meant skating for the joy of it, not for the medals. When we can detach ourselves from a particular outcome, which we often cannot directly control, and focus instead on the process, which we have far more control and influence over, it lifts a lot of pressure. The actions we take become more manageable and enjoyable. This process-focus supports better performance and greater wellbeing.
Authenticity helps us integrate the personal and professional
Eileen Gu's grandmother passed away the same day she won gold. She shared this in the press conference with tears running down her face. That moment did not detract from her professionalism in any way. If anything, we connect with her more. Bringing our whole selves to work, including our emotions and experiences, builds deeper trust and stronger relationships.
Authenticity gives you ownership
Alyssa Liu stepped away from skating and came back to the sport on her own terms. Eileen Gu immediately clapped back when a reporter asked if she was disappointed with her silver medals, highlighting her many achievements in the sport. Both athletes took ownership of their choices and their narratives. Authenticity ensures your decisions and actions are directly aligned with your values, rather than other people's expectations.
What this means for leaders
There are tangible benefits to authenticity.
Authenticity builds trust because consistency reduces uncertainty.
Authenticity supports better decision-making, because leaders respond to challenges based on their core values. This provides a responsive and proactive foundation for decisions, instead of a reactive, fear-based approach.
Authenticity strengthens resilience because leaders are no longer carrying the additional weight of incongruence, and can direct their energy to performance instead.
In high-stakes industries, these effects directly influence retention, engagement, and performance.
Takeaways for leaders
Leaders cannot remove the pressure from their environments. There is always pressure, whether this comes from regulation, client expectations, financial targets, or competitive markets.
What leaders can control is the alignment between how they feel inside and how they show up outside to become more authentic.
Three practical starting points:
Notice where you are editing yourself:
Observe those moments where your external behaviour does not match your internal perspective. Pay attention to those moments where you might be holding back, toning down or hiding parts of yourself. Ask yourself the question “What is stopping me from showing up fully?’ Often, the worries and fears we have around showing up are bigger than the reality. Increasing awareness reduces automatic reactivity and is the first step toward closing the gap between incongruence and authenticity.
Clarify and operationalise your values:
Your authenticity increases every time your behaviour reflects what matters most to you. Start by identifying your core values, then checking if your daily actions support those core values. Making small adjustments every day, like speaking up in a meeting or setting a clear boundary, add up and make a big difference over time.
Shift attention from outcome to process:
Start to find ways to engage with your work that feel intrinsically rewarding. When you focus on what you can control, and find satisfaction in the process, the pressure decreases which improves productivity and performance under pressure.
When leaders close the gap between who they are and how they lead, they show up authentically. They build trust, improve decision-making, and create calmer environments where people can do their best work.
Over time, this drives measurable gains in retention, engagement, and performance.
In high-pressure environments, authenticity is a vital performance variable.
That is the Conscious Leadership Advantage in practice.
If you’d like to explore how conscious leadership can enhance your people’s performance and wellbeing this year, I’d love to connect. You can get in touch by email or book a call to chat.
Dr Sarah Whyte helps leaders get their REPs up—retention, engagement, and performance—through the Conscious Leadership Advantage. A leadership and resilience expert with two decades’ experience working across finance, law, technology, and health, Sarah equips leaders to stay grounded, connected, and commercially sharp with her warmth, humour, and authenticity.
