Breaking out of my shell: Three things I wish I knew earlier in my career

I recently had a team member thank me for bringing my whole self to work. I had another acknowledge the fact that sometimes I’m a bit quirky and I love to have fun. But I wasn’t always this way, and in hindsight, I wish I was.

Throughout my 37-year career, there were many times when I was uncomfortable being myself. For a long time, I lived between two worlds – who I was at home and who I was at work. Whether it was my own self confidence or fear of acceptance that held me back, I usually left my humour and quirkiness behind before I walked into the office.

I know that I am not alone in sometimes feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. While I understand that identifying as a straight white male gives me many advantages, I still hope that my experience can help others know that they are not alone.

Here are three things that I wish I knew earlier in my career:

Don’t be afraid to break out of your shell

One of my biggest regrets in my career is that I didn’t have the courage to be myself sooner. Up until recently, I was seen to be very serious, and while my friends certainly knew the true Greg, not many saw the fun side of my personality at work. Over the last number of years, I’ve had the opportunity to break out of my conservative shell and laugh a lot more than I did in the past. Not only did it free my inner child, but my team seemed to enjoy it and we are much tighter as a result.

?Be true to yourself

A few years ago, I made the leap from Tax to Digital. One of my responsibilities included our Lighthouse team - the best and brightest we have in our data and analytics and artificial intelligence community. I love doing things that are out of the box to get people excited, so I ordered a full-size Lighthouse costume! Previously, I may not have shared my more creative side, but seeing how much laughter and joy it brought to the members of our management community on my floor, I realized that it’s OK to be a little bit quirky. It’s what makes me “me”.

Foster an inclusive workplace

One of the things I love about working at KPMG is that we are encouraged to bring our full self to work. Although this may be intimidating at first, I think you will be surprised at the amount of people who will admire and respect you for it. If we all give a little bit more of ourselves, I promise you’ll get so much more in return.

It might sound like I’ve got it all figured out now, but in my opinion, it took far too long. I hope you don’t take as long to bring your whole self to work and to this world. I can guarantee you that’s it’s so much easier to be you than anyone else. Let’s all remember to support one another and create an inviting space where everyone feels comfortable being themselves. After all, diverse perspectives make a world of difference.