Authenticity at Work

From being a successful international model in my first career as a young woman, to suffering a paradigm crash following the death of my third child in my thirties, to finding it necessary to reinvent myself in my forties, to being more me than I’ve ever been in my fifties, what I know for sure is this… being authentic and embracing our uniqueness is where our power lies. Today, I embrace all of my gifts and talents and continue to work on myself. My reinvention into an author, executive coach and life coach wasn’t easy but I was determined and passionate about my transformation. I’ve experienced personally and have seen firsthand how inauthenticity can rob women of their energy and excellence in almost every area of their lives that matters to them. Let’s face it, we spend most of our time at work and with colleagues and we also know that good relationships and real teams make the dream work, therefore, authenticity at work can make all the difference in terms of your personal and professional fulfillment. It doesn’t matter the industry, being real matters, especially today.

“This above all: to thine own self be true.”

One woman could have everything going for herself; other people could think she is the savviest, smartest, funniest, most charismatic woman in the organization. However, that’s not worth a penny with a hole in it if it’s not in alignment with how this woman thinks about herself, the work she does, and how she feels about what she thinks and does. For instance, if she feels out of integrity and inauthentic at work and simply playing the “corporate game” then she may not have discovered her real self or she may be afraid to be authentic for fear of being scorned, rejected, alienated or even fired. Another woman could also have everything going for herself; other people think she is an amazing team player and corporate maverick headed to a C-suite position. She has many of the same qualities as the first professional so what’s the difference? The second woman’s thoughts and feelings about herself, the work she does and what she wants to contribute and accomplish are congruent and in alignment with her inner essence and her authenticity. She is having a good time. She faces situations and problems differently because she is in her lane, her light will not burn out. If it dims she will have many options for personal and professional fulfillment to ignite her light bright again. Why, because she is real, genuine, legitimate and true to her authentic self.  She knows and values who she is and is willing to take a risk on her excellence. She is authentic, even at work.

What is Authenticity? Authenticity means being real and genuine. It means knowing yourself, your desires, talents and skills, and getting a clear image about how you want to express yourself personally and professionally (your lifestyle) and living it. Being authentic means you have embraced your uniqueness, from your body type, shape and size (body image), your personality and the individuality of your special being-ness. Being authentic means how you express yourself outwardly, verbally and nonverbally is congruent with how you think and feel on the inside.

Coaching clients have seen amazing results as a result of learning to envision themselves in all of their authentic glory.

Being authentic and real at work can be tricky though. In a recent polling of employees on authenticity at work, 80 percent say it improves the workplace, 75 percent say they want coworkers to share more about their true selves and almost two-thirds (64 percent) felt that being their true selves would make the workplace environment worse. However, in drawing from my experience as an executive coach and working with Fortune 100 women leaders, when these ladies know who they truly are authentically and start expressing themselves from this level of truthfulness with courage and empathy their career goals and advancements begin to line up and connect with integrity, causing a ripple effect where others can also grow and expand.

How To Be More Authentic? Start being more of your true self by embracing your uniqueness and appreciating your skills, talents, flaws, quirks and gifts. Take note of the traits and characteristics about yourself that you love, enjoy and consider an asset to moving forward in your ideal career and lifestyle. Consider new ways to leverage your degrees and certifications and make sure to pay attention to what others consistently compliment you on. Be truthful about your personality, individually and your natural style of self-expression. Finally, list your biggest dream(s) and goals, and your purpose if you’ve discovered it, and after considering all of the above it is your responsibility to look at your organization objectively to see where you stand and move forward accordingly.

Assess The Situation. How often do you access your feelings about the culture of your organization, your current position, career track, where you fit in and where you really want to be in a year, two years or five years from now? Is this information congruent with what matters most to you? How wide is the gap between where you are now and your goals being realized?

Now, with this information in hand you can effectively increase your power and credibility at work by strategically choosing and combining the necessary traits and chosen characteristics of your personality. You will be able to sharpen and utilize your skills and develop your talents in a way that will help you trust your gut and “be more real” at work, which leads to interacting on a deeper more sustainable level and building greater relationships. All it takes is awareness and understanding of the twelve vital abilities of authenticity and excellence that make up the whole person. These are your abilities to: Value Self, Perceive, Decide, Communicate, Build Rapport, Interact, Act, Produce, Have Certainty, Command, Expand and Accomplish. Access your authenticity level.

But, what about being your authentic self in the office?

While companies encourage authenticity there are limits. Unconscious bias can sometimes lie dormant until something triggers us, and no matter what we say we all have biases that we may not be aware of. However, an authentic way to release these biases is by seeking to understand others, their background, challenges, fears, goals and dreams. Start by asking simple but meaningful questions to coworkers and peers who may not look or sound like you. Share something meaningful about yourself based on your authentic work persona. It’s a well-known fact that when workers express more of their true selves at work, they tend to be happier and more enthusiastic about the job; benefiting productivity and the bottom line.

Cynthia Good of Little Pink Book believes that “lack of authenticity, and discouragement of it in today’s workplace, keeps many women from being as enthusiastic and successful as they can be…not just as leaders but as humans.”  She goes on to say, “It’s complicated. Being authentic may keep a woman from getting the top job. And yet not being authentic can get her fired. Either way – if you’re not yourself – I believe you will pay the price with your personal happiness.”

So today’s questions are:

• How do we take a closer look at our unconscious biases that we all have and work on ourselves in these areas?
• How can we leverage our own and others’ authenticity and individuality to improve the corporate culture and bottom-line?
• How can we improve women’s individual lives as well as the world?

The goal is to be more aware and more of your genuine self in all areas of your life and then allow your best self for those particular roles (work, community, home or play) to flow out naturally. You want to be seen and experienced by others at your higher levels of authenticity, which will attract the right people to you for the right reasons.

“Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” Oscar Wilde

To find out how well you’re doing at being authentic and true to your real self take the assessment.

By Chloé Taylor Brown
Photo by Jens Lindner

Chloé Taylor Brown is a professional presence expert, executive coach and life coach for Fortune 50 – 500 companies such as The Home Depot. She has authored four books including Getting Ready Chloé-Style: Perfecting Your Authentic Image and a new memoir, I Can Laugh Again: From the Valley of Grief to a Glimpse of Heaven.