vaughanshauna

Photo by Call Me Fred on Unsplash In the last post, I wrote about three things we tend to treat as one: authority, expertise, and agency, and the difference between authority and expertise. Today I want to look at what happens after that confusion sets in. Performative presence is the quiet pressure to be agreeable, palatable, and easy to work with in order to be taken seriously. Over time, that pressure becomes a habit. You start editing yourself before anyone asks. You leave certain things...

Most people move through high-stakes conversations without stopping to name what's happening in the room or to question whether the difference between authority and expertise even matters. There’s a reason for that.