#90: The power of authenticity on LinkedIn, with Sarka Risch

Speaker A: Sharka, it's such a pleasure to have you on the Stepsero podcast. Thank you for making the time.

Speaker B: Thank you, Matteo, for having me. I really appreciate it.

Speaker A: Sharka, you have a, I would call it a healthy obsession with helping people, professionals win on LinkedIn without losing themselves. That's how you described it. I believe in a, uh, in a recent post. And you lead with this voice first approach. You want executives, in a way, correct me if I'm wrong, to lean into their authentic voice and build their brand around it, which I think it's a very noble and interesting way to go about your personal branding in 2026 and specifically on the platform. So I thought maybe you can help me solve a dilemma that everyone talks about these days, which is should you be yourself at work and as a consequence, should you be yourself on LinkedIn?

Speaker B: That's a good question, Matteo. And from my perspective, it's crucial. But of course there is, uh, the thing that you have to believe in yourself. So once you believe in yourself and it starts from within. So really you have to see your worth, you have to see your value, you have to see also your core values, uh, and your qualities, then you can communicate it. And it's so important, especially nowadays, to communicate your insights, your learnings, but also your failure. Because so many people can learn from you, from your mistakes. And I was there too, when I was in a corporate world. I haven't believed in myself. I didn't have the voice that I have now. And that's actually why I started working on myself, investing in myself, and also why I started my business, to help others to do so. Because, um, I wasn't present online at all. And once I started being active on LinkedIn, strategically, with the right mindset, I realized how many opportunities opened up. Especially nowadays when people are invisible and they don't have this personal brand, for example, or also employer brand, it's so difficult to stand out and to help others because, yeah, it's. There is so much noise and people, uh, first have to build trust and have to know the person and like the person and then build trust. So that's actually, yeah, crucial point and, uh, the quickest point, how we can build trust online and then to take it in the offline world as well.

Speaker A: Is it my business to ask, was there a specific point in time that led you to make this, uh, switch from the corporate world to being more visible online and specifically on LinkedIn? Because like you said, I'm sure that you went through the motions of thinking, maybe I will be Misjudged, or maybe I may sound cringy or not original. I feel like we all go through these phases and, uh, you probably went through the same thing. Was there a specific moment in time that led you to flip the switch, uh, and just go for it?

Speaker B: Yeah, there was. So actually I signed up on LinkedIn in 2012, and I was there afraid. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to connect with people, how to write messages, how to, how to write posts, for example. So I did nothing. I was a lurker. It's 95% still are. And, uh, yeah. So then in 2019, I was traveling a lot for my employer and just one thought came into my mind and it was, how do you see yourself in 20 years? And it was like just a quick thought, but I didn't have any answer. I was just changing my suitcase and traveling again. Then, uh, two years later, friend of mine, she told me she sees me as an entrepreneur, and I told her, no, no way. And then I started working together with her and I also started building my skills regarding LinkedIn. My first LinkedIn online course was in 2020. But then I, at that moment, at that point, 21, I started working with, uh, American, um, influencer experts for LinkedIn. And since then, actually, I am working with English speaking coaches to learn the digital copywriting sales on LinkedIn. And also speaking. Yeah, the moment actually was, uh, when I started working with my mentor, I realized I was living from day to day. I realized I didn't have a purpose. I. And that was for me, like the awakening when I realized, okay, why? And that was the thought, actually, that came into my mind in 2019. So then I found, so my mentor, she helped me find my, my mission, my vision, and also my purpose. And once I started working with my clients and also on myself, everything changed because I really enjoyed helping them. I enjoyed inspiring people. That's for example, why I really love public speaking. Because, yeah, you can inspire so much people and you never know who you can inspire. The same on LinkedIn. Yeah.

Speaker A: Uh, you know, I find this very impactful because what you do clearly goes beyond LinkedIn. You're a LinkedIn expert and you help people build this authentic presence on the platform. But clearly what you're talking about and the impact that you have goes way beyond the platform itself. You mentioned having a mentor. You mentioned seeing yourself in a specific way 20 years from now. These are things that have a much larger impact than, uh, the platform you work on. And I think it's also one of the reasons why you have such a strong and positive reputation on LinkedIn and online, it makes a lot of sense. Is, uh, building this presence over time and in a way breaking that barrier, that hesitation, is this what helped you create that confidence in yourself?

Speaker B: That's a good question. And thank you very much for your compliments, Matteo. I really appreciate it. Yeah, actually I realized I have to show myself, but not because I want to promote myself, because I want to inspire and help others. And I started actually when I started posting, I started posting, um, picture of nature, uh, of my mentor, of my marketing, uh, lecturer. But I realized the posts weren't doing well because people wanted to see me because it's m. My profile. So they want to learn about the person. And I don't say you have to publish every time your pictures of you. Not at all. People, we all are human beings and people want to see you, your face. And who is, especially who is behind this business phase? How do you think, uh, what are your values? How do you lift them? And yeah, I have to say I have to really step out from my comfort zone. Yeah. To really show myself and really to, to change this. This mindset shift helped me and this is actually what help helps a lot my clients, uh, to think it's not about me, it's about helping, inspiring others. And this is actually the main point on LinkedIn because people who are coming to the profile, to the post, they ask every time what's in it for me and when I can deliver this value. Is it in a talk, is it in a, uh, workshop, or Is it on LinkedIn in a post then actually people resonate with this and they react. And that's why it's also so important to build this, uh, active community. And it's like in the normal life, we have to give first without expectations before we get back. And yeah, if you do it every day, you plant seeds and you never know when the seeds flourish of flowers. And then also you never know who you can inspire. And if you only inspire one person, then it's actually, you've done a great job. Yeah.

Speaker A: Do you think it's getting increasingly difficult to be authentic on a platform like LinkedIn? You know, these days you know better than I do, there's so much noise, so much information. You have alleged experts everywhere. Everyone is posting valuable content on a, uh, on a variety of topics. Is it, is it more difficult compared to the past, or is it getting more difficult to show your authentic self and show your human side?

Speaker B: That's A good question. And on one hand, yes, because, uh, people want to stand out and there's a lot of noise, but. And the algorithm, for example, is changing permanently. But on the other hand, it's actually easier because there's AI everywhere. And so many people are using AI to write posts, to comment, to write, uh, sales pitches, to write DMs. And that's why when you show your personality and how you help people, when you show your values, how you lift them, when you show this lived, uh, experience, what people want to learn from, then you will stand out. And this is actually not so difficult because you are talking about your journey, about your experiences, about your insights and this, everything else for your expertise. And this is unique because nobody else has, has these special experiences and all this, um, all this knowledge that you implement and learned and, and uh, and use. So in that way it's actually easier. But the important thing is really to believe in yourself. And back to a question from before. When you do this more and more and you start getting results and start seeing how much people get inspired through that, then you will also believe more in yourself. But of course, believing in yourself. Start from within. So then it's important really to tell yourself like, I am worthy. I believe in myself. Because we live the narratives that we tell ourselves. And this goes back to mindset, huh?

Speaker A: You know, these episodes, they are in a way designed to be fairly punchy, fairly quick. We keep them around 15 minutes, and it's always difficult to touch on all the angles and the topics that, that you would love to discuss. And you have a wealth of experience and knowledge. And I'll try to ask you a couple of maybe controversial, maybe or, uh, maybe superficial questions and see what I can get out of it. One of these is, when it comes to building your presence on LinkedIn, is it more about mindset or more about structure?

Speaker B: That's a great question. So for me and also for my clients, it's, I would say, the same in business, 80% is mindset. But of course you need the right systems and right structure or the right strategy and knowledge of the platform and the routine as well. But if people come to me and they tell me, for me and for my industry, LinkedIn doesn't work, then I tell them, okay, don't start because it won't work. So you have to believe first in it. And of course, there are some industries perhaps that are not so much on LinkedIn, but still there are people, and there are still people who really realize their dreams, who do business, who get Leads, for example, or who get new employees through LinkedIn. Not only because of the ads. I'm not talking about the ads, I'm talking about their activities. People who get a really thought leader. Yeah, it's actually crucial. So the mindset is the foundation, I would say, and also the strategy. Because if you don't have this clarity, who do you help, how do you help and what are your goals on LinkedIn, then you will be lost. So you can have the best mindset, but if you don't have this clarity and this goes back to the positioning, then you won't get the results either. So it goes together. But the mindset is like, I really would say 80% because, um, we live the thoughts, the feelings and the words that we tell ourselves. They create our lives, they create our, uh, personality. So. So, yeah, it's really crucial how we think. And um, I mean we have like 7,000 or something like that thoughts per day. And if we still are the same thoughts, we can never create something new. And if we really every day search for certainty or search for something that's sure known, then actually the future is unknown. So once, for example, so I, once I learn to embrace this unknown and really to enjoy it, everything changed. But you have to have this also resilient, to be resilient and really to, to believe in this, really want it, and then you will realize it. And also the very important thing is to decide from the state where you would like to be in, because when you decide from there, then you, you will make another decisions than if you decide from today, like, okay, I don't have the money, I can't do it. It's a scarcity mindset. But if you ask yourself, would this bring me closer to my vision, to my goals, would this help me at that time, then you will, you will feel it more because the money, you can organize it every time if you really want. The most important is will this help me to bring, to bring me closer to my goal?

Speaker A: That makes a lot of sense. And Sharka, thank you for sharing. We're heading towards the end of the conversation. There is one thing that I really feel like asking you, which is this. I believe there's a lot of people maybe even listening to this episode, who are just afraid to show up on the platform. Maybe they haven't posted in six to 12 months or maybe ever. What is the one thing you can tell them to unlock that action, to get them to show themselves and get them to take the first step, to be active on the platform and the first step to build their personal brand in 2026.

Speaker B: Yeah, I would say, uh, start with building active community because you can have the best post and the best hooks and rehooks the uh, headlines and the best picture. But if you haven't built a strong community, not many people will see it. So it's like in normal life, uh, LinkedIn is the same, only online. It's more efficient. So you really need relationships to be successful in business on LinkedIn. So I would first start really building these relationships. I would start reaching out to people who I already know and then connect with people who I don't know, comment on their post, start to writing DMs, but do it strategically. And I would also start with the thoughts why I'm here, what's actually my goal here on the platform and who I would like to help or who are the people, uh, who I would like to connect with and what are my topics, my teams that I would like to help others. So this goes to the strategy, but perhaps you don't know it immediately, but just ask yourself, what's my goal on this platform? And really start to reach out to people, uh, connect with them. But first of all, comment on their posts because the comments are so powerful and they start building relationships and so many people are afraid of them. But I am not talking about comments like nice posts. I'm talking about, of course, acknowledging the author, but then sharing your insights, your opinion, your expertise, and that's actually how you stand out and uh, how you help others and how you build this thought leadership as well, and how you start building personal brand as well. But then you need really the clarity about, uh, what's my strategy here?

Speaker A: It couldn't get more practical than this. Sarka, thank you for taking the time and sharing value. I find, I find conversations like this so insightful and I hope we can do this again soon. And until then, thank you so much for being on the podcast.

Speaker B: Thank you Matteo, and good luck to everyone.