gen·u·ine /ˈdʒɛnyuɪn/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[jen-yoo-in] –adjective

possessing the claimed or attributed character, quality, or origin; not counterfeit; authentic; real: genuine sympathy; a genuine antique

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It seems that in recent days, I have developed a real sensitivity to this word. It is bandied about in such a diverse variety of circumstances, and when taking into consideration its definition, its use does not always seem suitable. In the olden days, it was commonly used by hawkers of all manner and form of \"snake oil\" (yessiree folks, here it is, the \"gen-u-wine\" article). I can almost hear the addendum to that sales pitch...\"accept no substitutes\"....

I am relatively new to \"corporate culture\", having become truly immersed only a few years ago, as I have become acquainted with folks who have been navigating the big machines for many years. Early on in our conversations, I became aware of a certain set of \"buzz words\" that were prominent, heavily used, and seemed to carry a significant amount of impact when they were used. One of them was \"genuine\"

When a person has the moniker of \"genuine\" attached to their presence within an organization, it is understood that their behaviour is to be trusted, is of quality, and is always well intentioned. To attribute this behaviour to yourself is good, but the attribution of this characteristic by others to you is really the only opinion that is impactful and has value. This serves as validation that you really are behaving in the manner you believe you are ....For a person like me, who is very trusting, \"genuine\" is not a trained behaviour....it is just the way I am....I know what my intentions are, and believe that the intentions of the folks that I encounter are \"transparent\" (another great buzz word) as well. I am not a person with an organizational agenda....I know what I feel the job I have been given expects of me and my goal is to do it to the best of my ability. I like what I do and the people that I serve...I feel no necessity for agenda....

It is unfortunate that genuine and \"authentic\" seem to be a few of those words that can be \"leveraged\" (another great word) to excuse behaviours....\"I want to be genuine with you....let\'s be transparent.....\" used as the precursor to interactions that are, in all honesty, neither GENUINE or AUTHENTIC...they are oftentimes agenda driven, and the result...sometimes questionable at best....

This ramble?....the result of my first participation in a \"360\" process....self-assessment, assessment by my manager, and a group of people within the organization that I selected to assure that the information gathered would serve the purpose of the exercise. I have been struggling through the self-assessment, and as I do, I have been wondering about how my selected participants will be responding to those same prompts....it will be interesting to see if I really am living what I intend, and feel I portray....I hope there are not a lot of \"big reveals\" (another one of those buzz phrases), but if there are I will be very grateful to the people who participated for their candour and caring enough to be honest....

That\'s what is on my mind this day...that\'s it for now...till later, much love to you....

 

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