How to Start Showing Up Online Without Feeling Fake
A simple framework to begin posting without pretending to be someone you’re not.
You know you need to be visible. You know your work is important. But when you look at social media (like LinkedIn or X) you see people who look like performers. They look like actors. They talk about their amazing life or their incredible success.
This makes you feel stuck. You think, “I am a leader, a professional. I don’t want to be a performer. I don’t want to be fake.”
This feeling of being fake is the number one reason why good leaders stay invisible.
This guide will give you a simple framework. This framework moves you from trying to perform (which feels fake) to simply documenting (which feels real).
Visibility is not a show. It is a simple habit of sharing what you already know.
The Simple Goal: Document, Not Perform
Think about your work day. You solve problems. You make decisions. You teach your team. This is your real, valuable work.
Performance means you stop doing your real work to create content that looks good. You try to sound smarter than you are. You try to look like a guru. This takes a lot of time and energy. It feels fake because it is not who you are when you are working.
Documentation means you simply share the thoughts, lessons, and ideas that already happen during your workday. You do not invent anything. You just open the door a little bit and show people how you think. This is easy. This is fast. This is real.
The goal of this guide is to teach you the Simple Documentation Framework.
Part 1: Your Visibility Filter (What to Share)
Most people get stuck because they do not know what they can or cannot share. They worry about company secrets or sounding silly.
You need a simple filter to decide what is good content. This filter has three parts. You only share content that passes all three parts.
Filter 1: The Personal Lens
Everything you share must be viewed through your personal lens.
What is the personal lens? It is your specific way of seeing the world. Two people can look at the same project. One sees a timeline challenge. The other sees a team motivation problem. They see different things because their lens is different.
To use the personal lens, you ask yourself two questions:
Question A: What did I learn, specifically?
Do not share the general lesson (the cliché). Share the specific, simple lesson that you learned today or this week.
Bad (General): “Leaders must communicate clearly.” (Too vague. Everyone knows this. It feels fake.)
Good (Specific): “Today, I learned that sending an email update is not the same as a 5-minute direct call. The email caused confusion. The call fixed it instantly. Lesson: Use voice for complex fixes.”
Question B: How does this connect to my core values?
Every leader has core values (like trust, speed, learning, or empathy). When you share, link the lesson back to one of these values.
Example: If your value is Empathy, you share a story about listening to a customer, not just selling to them. This makes the content yours.
Result of Filter 1: You are not sharing news. You are sharing your unique view of the news. This is the first step to being authentic.
Filter 2: The Teaching Rule
Your content must teach someone something useful.
If you are only talking about yourself, it feels like bragging (performance). If you talk about a lesson that helps someone else, it feels like service (documentation).
To use the teaching rule, you ask: Who is my audience, and what can they do with this information?
Your audience is usually one level down (a junior leader or a new professional) or one level across (a peer in a different department).
You are not writing for the CEO. You are writing for the person who is trying to get to your job.
Simple Test: The “Do This, Not That” Structure
The easiest way to teach is to use the “Do This, Not That” structure.
Do not say: “We had a successful quarter.” (Performance)
Say: “We failed to meet our goal in Q1, but we fixed it in Q2. Do This: When a project is slow, do not hold weekly meetings. Do That Instead: Use a 15-minute daily ‘Stand-Up’ video message to keep the rhythm fast.” (Documentation that teaches a simple action)
Result of Filter 2: Your content is not about showing off. It is about helping others to think better or work better. This keeps you focused on value.
Filter 3: The Low-Risk Check
You must feel safe when you share. If you feel afraid, you will hesitate. The Low-Risk Check helps you overcome this fear.
Ask: If I post this, will I get fired, or will a colleague look stupid?
Never share confidential company numbers, customer names (without permission), or information that damages the reputation of your company or a specific colleague.
Always share generalized frameworks, personal lessons, mistakes you made (and fixed), and industry observations.
How to Generalize a Story:
If a story is too specific, remove the names and the dates.
Too Specific: “My team, Team X, failed a deadline on the Acme Corp project on Tuesday.”
Safe/General: “A few weeks ago, a team I lead missed a critical deadline. We spent too much time perfecting the first step. Lesson: Good enough, shipped fast, is better than perfect, shipped late.“
Result of Filter 3: You feel safe. When you feel safe, you are more likely to be consistent. Consistency is the secret to visibility.
Part 2: The Simple Documentation Framework (How to Write)
Now that you know what to share, you need a simple framework for how to write it. You do not need complex grammar or big words. You need structure.
We will use the L-A-S-T framework. Each post you write must follow these four steps.
L is for Hook (The Lure)
You must stop the reader quickly. Your first sentence is the most important. It must be about a problem or a strong opinion that the reader has.
Do not start with: “I want to share a thought about leadership.” (Too slow. The reader moves on.)
Start with: “The weekly status meeting is a waste of time.” (Strong opinion. Stops the reader.)
Start with: “Here is the simple mistake I made last month that cost us 5 days.” (Problem/vulnerability. Stops the reader.)
Rule for the Hook: Never start a post talking about yourself. Start a post talking about the reader’s problem.
A is for Story (The Action)
This is the body of your post. You must use a very simple story to prove your Hook. A story is not a report. It is a simple flow:
The Situation: What was the setting? (We were trying to launch a new product.)
The Conflict: What went wrong? (We spent 80% of our energy on the logo and zero on talking to customers.)
The Resolution: How did you fix it? (We stopped work, called 10 customers, and changed the plan.)
Keep the story short. Use simple language. The reader should be able to read it in 30 seconds.
Rule for the Story: Use the word “I“ or “We.” Your personal involvement is what makes the post feel authentic. This is your personal experience, not a press release.
S is for Lesson (The Simple Takeaway)
After the story, you must tell the reader: What is the simple lesson?
This is the moment for the “Do This, Not That” advice. The lesson must be a framework or a rule that the reader can apply immediately.
“The lesson is simple: Strategy before design. Never start building until you know what problem you are solving.”
“My new rule is: Never use email for a disagreement. Pick up the phone or walk over.”
Rule for the Lesson: Use bold text to highlight the core lesson. Make it easy for the reader to steal the idea and use it themselves.
T is for Call to Action (The Turn)
A good post ends by asking the reader to think or act. This is the most forgotten part of the post.
The Call to Action (CTA) has two functions:
It encourages engagement (people comment).
It shows the reader that you are open to conversation.
Simple CTAs to Use:
Ask for an experience: “What is your team’s biggest time-waster? Share in the comments.”
Ask for a challenge: “I am trying to fix our planning process. What is one tool I should try next?”
Ask for agreement: “Do you agree that most meetings are useless? Yes or No.”
Rule for the CTA: Never ask the reader to buy something. Only ask them to share their own knowledge. You are building a community of thinkers, not a line of customers.
Part 3: The Confidence Habit (The Simple Rhythm)
Even with the right filter and the right framework, you might still feel awkward. This is normal. The solution is not bravery. The solution is repetition (doing it many times).
Confidence is a habit, not a gift.
The 10-Post Commitment
Your first five posts will feel awkward. Your tenth post will feel better. Your twentieth post will feel natural.
Do not worry about results for your first 10 posts. This is your learning period. Do not check the likes. Do not check the comments. Your goal is simply to publish 10 times.
Tell yourself: “My first 10 posts are training. I will not quit before post number 10.”
When you focus only on the number 10, the pressure goes away. You stop trying to be perfect and start focusing on finishing the set.
The Content Reservoir
If you wait for a great idea, you will wait forever. Ideas must be collected every day. This is your Content Reservoir.
Every day, take 5 minutes to write down three things that happened in your professional life. Use simple tools (like Evernote or the Notes app on your phone).
A Question: What question did a junior colleague ask me today? (Example: “How do I say no to my manager?”)
A Frustration: What felt slow or broken today? (Example: “Approvals took 4 days because everyone was cc’d.”)
A Realization: What simple thought crossed my mind? (Example: “We spend more time fixing old work than starting new work.”)
These three simple notes are the raw material for your next post. When it is time to write, you do not need to think. You just go to your reservoir and pull out a note.
This makes writing easy and fast. It eliminates the anxiety of the blank page.
Consistency Over Volume
You do not need to post five times a week. That is a performance habit. That leads to burnout.
You need to establish a sustainable rhythm. This is a rhythm that you can keep for one year without getting tired.
For most professionals, the best rhythm is:
One simple post per week. (A 3-minute post using the L-A-S-T framework.)
Three simple comments per day. (Find a post from a leader you respect and add your own specific, thoughtful reaction. This builds your network.)
This rhythm of 1 post and 15 comments per week is much more effective than five fast, low-quality posts. It makes visibility a simple part of your workweek, not a second, stressful job.
Conclusion: Stop Hiding Your Value
You have worked hard to gain your experience. That experience is valuable. Hiding it does not make you humble. It makes you invisible.
Authenticity is not about being perfect. It is about being useful.
Start today with a simple commitment:
Use the three filters to choose a simple, real lesson you learned.
Write it using the L-A-S-T framework (Hook, Story, Lesson, Turn).
Commit to the 10-Post Commitment to build your confidence habit.
Stop worrying about being fake. Start focusing on being useful. Your expertise is the most authentic thing you have. Start sharing it.
What is one simple lesson you learned this week? Write it down right now. That is your first post.