Chasing clout on LinkedIn: Treading the fine line between being real and self-serving
The Usual Place Podcast Chasing clout on LinkedIn: Treading the fine line between being real and self-serving
A recent viral post on LinkedIn - the professional networking social media platform - has cast the spotlight on how some users have pushed content about their jobs and professional endeavours into something more self-serving and performative.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Ms Janney Hujic shared about what she claimed was a 'chance encounter' with former DBS CEO Piyush Gupta in a cafe in Bali.
She praised his 'quiet conviction' and how he had shared wise words for her upcoming all-women's expedition in Mongolia.
It read like a cool connection moment, until it turned out to be fake.
Mr Gupta, whom she tagged, commented on the post to clarify that she was mistaken. He wrote: 'Sorry to disillusion you. That isn't me!'
While the whole episode took a darker turn later on - with Ms Hujic claiming it was a blackmail post for money by her freelance social media manager in the Philippines - it also sparked a conversation about humble bragging, toxic positivity or exaggerating professional interactions in the quest to stand out on a platform like LinkedIn's.
In this episode of The Usual Place, Ms Crystal Lim-Lange - co-founder of Forest Wolf, a leadership consultancy that specialises in leadership transformation and personal growth - dropped by to talk about how we can be real when it comes to celebrating professional milestones and branding ourselves.
Talking about the viral post, Ms Lim-Lange, who is also a two-time LinkedIn Top Voice, said: 'We are all dealing with human beings, and there are many reasons why people can show up on social media in a certain way. We don't know the full story.'
The post by Ms Hujic has since been deleted.
Our podcast conversation turned to the importance of career visibility, how this incident highlighted the temptation to appear connected or successful, and how to avoid being performative.
On the matter of showing up authentically, the entrepreneur, who also hosts a podcast called Comfort And Growth with Crystal Lim-Lange, said: 'Don't say something because you want to say something. Say something because you have something to say.'
I also wanted to know how someone in Ms Hujic's position can make a comeback after a professional gaffe?
Ms Lim-Lange said: 'You can't go wrong if you are doing your best and it's real...nobody can hold that against you to some extent, because what else can we do other than our best?'
Highlights (click/tap above):
2:12 Many reasons why people show up differently on social media
4:05 Casual racism behind the viral LinkedIn post? Why we need to be conscious of what we say
8:16 Career visibility is important, but when does it become self-serving or a humblebrag?
12:25 What this incident highlights about the temptation to appear connected or successful
13:59 Ms Lim-Lange's checklist for her LinkedIn posts: Is it educational, entertaining or inspirational?
15:30 When to shine the spotlight on your professional journey
17:16 Future jobs will require 'high touch and trust'
18:58 'If you are just a warm body, then you are replaceable.': A lesson learnt from her investing banking days
20:20 What does building career visibility entail?
25:05 'In order to be visible... you need to create value.': Ms Lim-Lange
28:17 How can I be real on a professional networking social media platform like LinkedIn?
30:39 Record and share insights from your work, avoid being performative to sell yourself
36:07 How do we recover from a professional gaffe?
38:21 'Authenticity is the ultimate cure-all.': Ms Lim-Lange's take on why doubling-down doesn't work
42:53 The difference between reacting and responding
Ms Lim-Lange's podcast is available on Spotify and YouTube.
Host: Natasha Ann Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg)
Read Natasha's articles: https://str.sg/iSXm
Follow Natasha on her IG account and DM her your thoughts on this topic: https://str.sg/8Wav
Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN
Filmed by ST Video: Joel Chng and T Kumar
Edited by ST Podcast producers: Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh and Natasha Liew
ST Podcasts' executive producer: Ernest Luis
Follow The Usual Place Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:
Channel: https://str.sg/5nfm
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX
Spotify: https://str.sg/cd2P
YouTube: https://str.sg/wEr7u
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
---
Follow more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
ST Podcasts website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
4 hours ago
- Business Times
Issue 159: Prioritising risk, engagement in governance code review; Singapore's data centre retreat
This week in ESG: MAS official outlines approach of Code of Corporate Governance review; PwC forecasts data centre growth in Asia-Pacific Corporate governance New codewords? Risk and engagement As Singapore reviews its Code of Corporate Governance to complement efforts to revitalise the stock market, risk management and stakeholder engagement should be priority areas to beef up. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) assistant managing director Lim Tuang Lee says that the Corporate Governance Advisory Committee (CGAC), which is undertaking the review, will adopt a 'broader consultative approach ' to seek feedback from investors and companies of various profiles. Two subcommittees – announced in May – will support key thrusts of the review. The first subcommittee will consider how to improve implementation of the code, including practice guidance suited for companies' operating contexts, size and industry. The second subcommittee will consider new code provisions on corporate culture, board effectiveness and risk management in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 12.30 pm ESG Insights An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues. Sign Up Sign Up In a speech this week, Lim said facilitating a 'more meaningful and practical application' of the code could mean that a 'one-size-fits-all approach may not be the way' to achieve the code's desired outcomes. The review is taking place amid a national effort to spark more action in its stock market. The regulatory aspect of that effort involves a more decisive move towards a disclosure-based regime. Messaging on the stock market revitalisation and code review can be misconstrued as more of the same. After all, the creation of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) through the merger of the Stock Exchange of Singapore and the Singapore International Monetary Exchange in 1999 was part of a move to liberalise Singapore's financial regulatory system and capital markets by embracing a risk-based regime. The caveat emptor approach has been a pillar of the Singapore stock market for more than two decades, or at least that has been the official line. Except that now we have learned that there were still remnants of a merit-based system lurking in the listings approval process and that some rules may have been too onerous, so it's time to cleanse the system to be purer. Caveat emptor with less caveats. Buyers truly beware. And one might think that eschewing 'one-size-fits-all' in the code is a funny thing to say since the code is already enforced under a comply-or-explain regime. This means that any company that chooses not to adhere to any part of the code faces no penalty as long as it explains the non-compliance. To be any more accommodating and less one-size-fits-all might have to mean doing away with a code altogether. Of course, it makes some sense when you dig up the details. Effective market regulation is always going to be some balance between regulatory enforcement and market discipline, and it's perfectly reasonable to determine that the correct calibration this time needs to shift towards more market discipline. Also, the governance code is primarily a principles-based code, so it's important that companies with different circumstances – a family-controlled company has very different governance dynamics from one with more dissipated ownership, for example – are supported by practice guidance that accounts for variation. Notwithstanding the issues with messaging, the most important thing for the code review is that the trajectory is towards a more disclosure-based regime. Such regimes lean heavily on boards to ensure that company disclosures are timely, accurate and adequate. Boards in turn depend on management to obtain the information being disclosed. That's why regulators around the world have been paying closer attention to boards' accountability on risk management and internal controls. In London , the revised 2024 governance code makes it clear that boards are responsible for establishing and maintaining risk management and internal control frameworks, and must report on their effectiveness in annual reports. Hong Kong 's new code, which took effect in July, makes it mandatory for boards to review the effectiveness of risk management and internal control systems annually and to disclose details about those systems in annual reports. Internal controls can include oversight over corporate culture, especially when it comes to ensuring a commitment to ethics and integrity in the company. It's often said that deliberate hiding of fraud can be extremely challenging to detect. A corporate culture that emphasises the right values is one way to minimise that risk. It's worth considering whether the Singapore code should expect more from boards with regard to risk management and internal controls. In five full years of available data from SGX Regulation (SGX Regco), potential listing rule breaches – where the regulator issues show-cause letters to companies – related to timeliness of financial and sustainability reports, annual general meetings, internal controls and other corporate governance issues have trended upwards. The numbers come from ongoing investigations, so the date of the potential offence may not correspond with the date that the letter was issued. It's also possible that some companies are targets for more than one enforcement action, so a higher number doesn't mean potential delinquency is more widespread. Furthermore, higher breach numbers might reflect more effective enforcement instead of a higher offence rate. Notwithstanding those limitations, the fact is that the occurrence of concerning governance lapses has not shown clear improvement. Singapore may also need to strengthen board oversight of risk and internal control systems to accommodate a recent court ruling that a director may be a 'sentinel' but not a 'sleuth'. That ruling makes clear that it's not the director's 'duty of supervision and oversight to pick up fraud unless there are tell-tale or warning signs'. Internal controls become more important under these rules. Another aspect of the Singapore code that might deserve some emphasis is the board's role in engaging with stakeholders. From an investor's perspective, increasing the opportunities and channels through which a company can share and obtain information is important as the market tilts further towards disclosure-based regulation and a regulatory preference for continuous disclosures. From the company's point of view, regular contact with various stakeholders helps it to stay abreast of risks and opportunities in a volatile and uncertain world. However, as MAS's Lim observes, 'too many companies here limit themselves to the bare minimum disclosure requirements, and in doing so, they've missed the opportunity to articulate strategic visions and plans for companies'. The revised Hong Kong code is more prescriptive about the details that companies are expected to provide in reporting about shareholder engagement. For example, companies are expected to disclose the nature and number of shareholder engagements by independent and non-executive directors. The right approach for Singapore's code is for the CGAC to determine, but stakeholder engagement is an area widely seen to be ripe for improvement. The timing couldn't be better for a refresh of the governance code. For the CGAC, the challenge lies in finding the right calibration to put boards in the best position to help their companies navigate a global economy and trade relationships that are undergoing drastic changes, as well as a Singapore stock market that is heading into its own transformation. Net zero On the sidelines of the data centre race Singapore is losing market share in the data centre space, but this is one sector that the water- and renewable energy-starved nation might be ready to sit out. A report by PwC forecasts 8 per cent compounded annual growth for data centre capacity in Singapore between 2024 and 2028. That's the lowest rate out of 14 Asia-Pacific markets analysed by the consulting firm. While Singapore's data centre capacity might expand from 1 gigawatt (GW) to 1.4 GW in that period, it would be overtaken by Malaysia, which could see capacity grow from 0.5 GW to 1.6 GW. As a region, Asia-Pacific's data centre capacity will grow 21 per cent per year from 2024 to 2028, more than doubling capacity from 12.2 GW to 26.1 GW. That growth will be driven by digital technologies, including cloud computing, 5G wireless networks and artificial intelligence. Singapore is a major regional hub for trade, finance, logistics as well as a stable location both in terms of natural disasters and politics. Those would normally make Singapore an ideal location for data centres, but the nation's ability to keep pace with its neighbours is severely limited for a number of reasons. Land-scarce Singapore is not yet fully self-sufficient in water and has to import the liquid from Malaysia. The country has also committed to peak greenhouse gas emissions by around 2030 and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, which are ambitious targets given that Singapore is almost completely reliant on natural gas for electricity and expects to have to import renewable energy to meet those goals. Data centres are notoriously huge consumers of electricity – for powering the servers that occupy the centres – and water – to cool said servers. Unless and until data centres become significantly more efficient in their energy and water usage, or Singapore is able to generate or procure low-carbon electricity at a cheap enough rate, data centres are a bad fit for Singapore. Singapore copes by adopting a strategy that focuses on lower-volume research and development, hoping to attract developers to build and test green data centre technologies instead of competing on capacity. But the truth is that everyone else also has to deal with the huge energy and water appetites of data centres. PwC predicts that the electricity consumption of data centres in the Asia-Pacific's top six markets will outpace the growth of renewable energy generation capacity in those countries. The renewable energy gap in these markets will grow from between 200 and 300 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2024 to more than 500 TWh in 2030. Data centre growth in many Asia-Pacific countries will threaten the ability of those countries to achieve their climate goals, and policymakers may have to choose between one or the other in the coming years. Singapore may be making its choice now, but others could soon have to confront that reality as well. Other ESG reads
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Singapore shares fall again on US inflation worries, Trump-Putin peace talks; STI down 0.6%
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The Straits Times Index closed down 0.6 per cent or 25.99 points to 4,230.53. SINGAPORE – Local shares fell again on Aug 15 as investors stuck to the sidelines amid US inflation concerns and the Ukraine war peace talks in Alaska. It was something of a lacklustre session with the Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.6 per cent or 25.99 points to 4,230.53 while losers beat gainers 302 to 233 on much-reduced trade of 1.4 billion securities worth $1.6 billion. Swissquote Bank senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya noted that US companies have largely absorbed tariff costs so far but this could change if higher prices are passed on to consumers. She added that markets see a 93 per cent chance of a 25-basis-point cut by the US Federal Reserve in September: 'The White House pressure is mounting, and the September rate cut looks inevitable, come hell or high water.' Regional indexes were mixed as Japan's GDP figures beat forecasts, while Chinese economic data fell short of expectations. Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 1.7 per cent higher, Shanghai stocks rose 0.8 per cent and South Korea's Kospi remained flat while Malaysian shares fell 0.3 per cent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 1 per cent. Australia was the standout. The ASX 200 added 0.7 per cent to make it five record closes in succession, putting the 9,000-point mark in reach. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Ong Beng Seng fined $30k in case linked to ex-minister Iswaran after judge cites judicial mercy Singapore Why was Ong Beng Seng fined instead of jailed? Key points from the case Asia Sun Haiyan, ex-China ambassador to S'pore, detained for questioning: Sources Life Online travel agencies Klook and make debut at Natas Travel Fair Singapore Jail for drink-driving cop in hit-and-run accident; victim suffered multiple fractures Life How do household bomb shelters in Singapore really work? The gains came despite a middling session on Wall Street underpinned by reports that said US inflation at the wholesale level came in at 0.9 per cent in July, the largest monthly increase in more than three years. Investors were not rattled and left the three indexes largely unchanged. The STI here was hit by UOB, which fell 2.8 per cent to $35.34. The other local banks also slipped: DBS shed 1.2 per cent to $49.90; and OCBC edged down 0.1 per cent to $16.90. UOB and DBS went ex-dividend on Aug 15.
Business Times
5 hours ago
- Business Times
Singapore shares extend losses ahead of Trump-Putin peace talks; STI down 0.6%
[SINGAPORE] Local equities finished Friday (Aug 15) lower, extending a two-day losing streak, as markets awaited peace talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Russia-Ukraine war. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.6 per cent or 25.99 points to 4,230.53. Across the broader market, decliners beat gainers 302 to 233 as 1.4 billion securities worth S$1.6 billion changed hands. 'The upcoming meeting looks more likely to sour than succeed, with oil flows potentially caught in the crossfire,' said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. She added that Trump had warned of 'severe consequences', including sanctions, if Ukraine peace talks stall, raising the risk of tensions with Russia. Ozkardeskaya further noted that this week's US consumer price index and producer price index data suggest companies have largely absorbed tariff costs so far. However, that could change if higher prices are eventually passed on to consumers. She also said that markets now see a 93 per cent chance of a 25-basis-point cut by the US Federal Reserve in September. She expects this to be the only one this year, adding that a 50-basis-point cut is unlikely. 'The White House pressure is mounting, and the September rate cut looks inevitable – come hell or high water.' In Asia, key regional indices were mixed as Japan's gross domestic product figures beat forecasts, while data on Chinese industrial production, investment and retail sales fell short of expectations. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 1.7 per cent higher, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.8 per cent and South Korea's Kospi remained flat for a second consecutive day. Meanwhile, the Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was down 0.3 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1 per cent. Back home, the STI was dragged by UOB , which fell 2.8 per cent or S$1.02 to S$35.34. The other two local banks also ended lower; DBS shed 1.2 per cent or S$0.59 to S$49.90, and OCBC edged down 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 to S$16.90. UOB and DBS went ex-dividend on Friday. The top performer on the index was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding , which rose 1 per cent or S$0.03 to S$2.91.
