Authentic Success

In between running projects for work, your community service and cheering for those you love, it’s hard to know when to be in manager-mode and when to be yourself. We know you’ve found some Life/Work balance, but what about balancing your authentic self and your professional self when it comes to work?

“Research shows that women who behave in too masculine a way are respected but not very well liked by their colleagues, while women who are too feminine are well liked but not well respected,” says Robin Ely, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

However, as women find themselves in positions of increasing authority, we can start to feel more comfortable in our roles and in being fully ourselves. Ely adds that, “If we focus on what we want to accomplish and contribute, we end up in a place where we can feel quite authentic.”

Ready to be your amazing, authentic self?

Microsoft.com, Psychology Today and the CEO game encourage you to embrace your femininity and bring back feminine value into the workplace, including body language and goal-setting.

Still can’t find the balance? Monster.com and WomenMedia.com weigh in and explain why being authentic is so difficult, from being labeled as “too nice” to having past bad experiences push femininity and core values to the background.

Need more? The pressures to conform to family, religion, politics and the media can sometimes lead to self-criticism and fear. Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken suggests exercising self-awareness and embracing your faults to stay authentic.

Bonus PINK Link: Here’s how to find your authentic self.

Minute Mentor Video: Lisa Caputo shares how to look the part and be your true self.

By Caroline Cox

“Women are always being tested … but ultimately, each of us has to
define who we are individually and then do the very best job we can
to grow into it.” Hillary Rodham Clinton