How to Bring Authenticity to the Workplace

This week I’m speaking on a panel for women in technology. The theme is authenticity in the workplace, which got me thinking, “What does being authentic even mean?” There are things about ourselves that we don’t share at the workplace. So, what’s the right level of authenticity at work? What does that look like? For me, it comes down to being honest about my own strengths, weaknesses, and (gasp!) mistakes, and helping others embrace that same honesty. Here are some of the lessons I have learned regarding authenticity.

Bringing Our Honest Selves to the Conversation

I used to be deathly afraid of speaking in front of a group. I worked tremendously hard to become good at my craft and taken seriously, but I fumbled whenever I had to present my work to others in a public setting. To get over my fear of speaking, I enrolled in a stand-up comedy class. One thing the instructor said that’s stayed with me is this: comedy is about vulnerability. Audiences laugh with you because they feel your pain. They immediately realize you’re just like them – with all the same anxieties, struggles, heartaches, and joys – and they like you (and laugh with you) as a result.

The same holds true at work. Your coworkers, teams, and those you lead need to trust you; and trust requires a great deal of honesty, particularly when you make a mistake. None of us are perfect, and we can’t expect our teams to be either. In fact, I was working with a group of executives earlier this year; and one of the gentlemen said something remarkable. He admitted that their global organization had a mantra of “failing fast…as long as you never fail”. The entire room erupted in laughter because there was immense truth to it. We give our teams an impossible task. We tell them they are empowered to experiment and fail, and yet we tell them not to. As a result, they end up avoiding risks that they would otherwise take. Further, they may still fail, the only difference being that they won’t tell you about it.

So what can we do? Tell your team about a time you didn’t do something perfect, made a bad judgement call, or were in the wrong. Share with them the lesson you learned from it. People need to see that you are human and fail because it gives them the freedom to come to you with their failures; and it allows everyone to learn from it and move on (and go on to make new and interesting mistakes!). When people come to me with their failures, I try to focus the conversation around what we learned and what we’re going to do differently to avoid the same mistake the next time.

Helping Others Find their Honest Selves

It sounds counterintuitive, but we bring our most authentic selves to the conversation when we focus on mentoring and building up others at work. Another great piece of advice I received from a coach was that when presenting to a group, “Focus on the message, not on yourself”. When your mission at work moves from “How can I best climb the corporate ladder and help my own career?” to “How can I help my team grow, learn, and better understand their own strengths and weaknesses?”, you show up to work differently. You are now working towards a mission larger than yourself and you end up being your best self at work. When those around you shine and, ultimately, become better leaders, the first question takes care of itself.

Erika Flora, PMP, CSM, and ITIL Expert is a Principal Consultant (and avid student of authenticity) at BEYOND20. You can follow Erika on Twitter and join BEYOND20 on Facebook and Youtube. Read all of BEYOND20's blog articles here.