That's a very compact rebuttal! I hope I can one day express myself so efficiently. Impressive.
There was a time when I didn't know how useful "being yourself" was. I don't believe I'm the only one. For instance, people substitute defining themselves by a contrarian viewpoint relative to others, until they work out who they really are. Case in point: the petulant teenager.
And when you don't know you don't know, the questions you ask and actions you take don't display an understanding of that -- so it works to address the non literal if you want to contribute to helping people with those requests.
No I don't think you're misreading. Maybe you're right and it is patronising and passive aggressive. I'm struggling with a response to this, and I meant every word. The rebuttal is very compact and I admire that. I'm often too verbose, and value clarity.
Anyway I'm trying to say something like:
Not everyone may know that. Being yourself is important, all decisions flow from your values works. Sometimes it works to address the substantive content of a question which may differ from the literal.
If you have any ideas how I can say this in a way that works, thank you :)
Know who you are then you'll know what to do. The question isn't about career impact. That's just like when someone's words are different to their body language. The question is different to the words in it.
Whether or not he feels that testifying would be the right thing to do isn't about career impact.
Looking for advice about what testifying could do to his career image in the long-term from a crowd that likely has relevant experience is about career impact. Explicitly.
Yes, you've correctly comprehended the literal explicit question, that's all there is to it, isn't it?
Except it really isn't about the explicit literal question, it's about the unasked real question.
What happens when you don't know you don't know something, or when asking what would be unacceptable?
A proxy question is substituted, and you hope someone hears what you're really saying.
Also, from a literal sense, I'd say whether you feel the choice is authentic is actually all about career impact. You're choosing to make your career something which isn't you, or something which is. What is the impact on you, and subsequently on your career, for each choice?
Thanks for saying that you're right and that my answer isn't addressing the question. I invite you to create an answer that addresses the question you see, so we can learn from you! :)