There was a bit of discussion on LinkedIn last week around whether “authenticity at work” should be practiced or not. This particular research piece suggested it’s not such a great idea, more so if you are in a minority group. It did get me thinking though why there is still apprehension about coming to work and behaving in an authentic way. Now I’m not a research kind of guy so the following is purely my opinions and thoughts from organisations, sectors and industries I have worked across over the past 30 years (with 15 of those years in formal leadership roles).
Let’s start with what is authenticity? I am not here to define it precisely as there are so many different versions out there. For the purpose of this exercise (and relying on Dr Google) lets go with “being true to your own personality, values and spirit regardless of the pressure that you’re under to act otherwise”. I like to think of it in a professional context as how you “show up” each day. To further sharpen it, are those you work with seeing your personality, values and spirit on display each day? If they are, then you are being authentic at work and if they aren’t, then you aren’t being authentic at work. This keeps it simple.
So why aren’t we feeling like we can “show up” in an authentic way at work each day? I have identified 3 reasons why I believe that authenticity isn’t something that is consistently practiced within organisations.
Lack of self-awareness
My personal belief is that we lack understanding of our personality, values and spirit on a deep level. How can we bring something to work each day that we aren’t actually connected to? Reading this you are probably thinking no you’re wrong I do have high levels of self-awareness. Ok if that is so, are you bringing your authentic self to work each day? If we had deep levels of understanding our personality, values and spirit it would almost be impossible to come to work each day and behave in an inauthentic way. Each of us have plenty of work to do on this if we are going to move the “authenticity at work” dial.
Fear
I hear the following statements a lot. I can’t be authentic as I might get sacked. I can’t be authentic as I may not get the next promotion. I can’t be authentic as I am afraid of what people will think of me. I could literally list 100’s of statements like this. This is fear-based thinking. And if we have this thinking in our professional lives then it will exist in our personal lives. And if we do it often enough for long enough there is an impact on our mental and physical health. By adopting a “fearless mindset” we can turn these statements into “I will be authentic at work and what’s meant for me will come to me”. Notice the change in mindset here. Sure, this takes time and conscious effort to shift but if practiced and adopted watch the magic happen – the magic being an increase in people around you who are being more authentic. Coincidence? I think not.
Herd mentality
In organisations there is a herd whether we like the concept or not. My hypothesis is the herd don’t practice authenticity at work on a consistent basis – if at all! As there is perceived “punishment” for those that do “show up” in an authentic way. It’s safer to be in the herd as work happiness and career progression are more likely to go in your favour. This may be true but what is the trade off? If you are coming to work in the herd where your personality, values and spirit are compromised each day that can’t make you feel good about yourself can it? Surely something must feel off? Doing some work in the self-awareness space will reveal some answers here. Breaking away from the herd requires courage and belief in yourself (self-worth, self-confidence, self-trust etc) – this can only be done through enhanced self-awareness and adopting a fearless mindset. I’m not saying this is easy but if you are wanting to be a role model and builder of an “authenticity at work” culture, then it’s the only way. Until then you will remain in the herd.
What is holding you back from bringing your personality, values and spirit to work each day?
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