You Can Leave Your Hat On (and you should)
Steve Carpenter
??Fractional People Director | HR Mentor | Leadership Coach | Culture Design | Building thriving places to work
"So when I realised I could sing for a living - do what I loved and be paid for it - I thought, 'This is unbelievable. Unbelievable!' And that feeling has never left me." - Tom Jones
You Can Leave Your Hat On (and you should)
At work, individuals often find themselves wearing metaphorical hats to fit into various professional roles. While this adaptation might seem beneficial initially, it is not. It's essential to drop the pretences and be true to yourself in the workplace. Authenticity not only fosters personal happiness and fulfilment but also paves the way for professional success.
Authenticity in the workplace means being genuine, transparent, and true to one's values and beliefs. It involves bringing one's true self to work, rather than trying to conform to societal or organisational expectations.
you were hired because of your personality!
I first came across this concept when I started when at TGI Fridays UK way back in 1990. Fridays had a manual of Theories & Philosophies that underpinned their culture. One of the theories was The Employee Cloak Theory which stated that when you come to work you shouldn’t wear a ‘cloak’ to cover your personality – you were hired because of your personality!
Research has shown that employees who exhibit authenticity are more engaged, experience higher job satisfaction, and have better overall well-being. According to a study published in the Journal of Business Ethics, authentic individuals tend to have stronger emotional intelligence, enabling them to build healthier relationships with colleagues and superiors.
When employees are authentic, they are more likely to display their natural strengths, which can lead to remarkable outcomes. Marcus Buckingham, a renowned author, and researcher, advocates for focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses in his book "Now, Discover Your Strengths." By identifying and utilising their inherent talents, employees become more productive and efficient, thus contributing significantly to their organisation's success.
When employees are authentic, they are more likely to display their natural strengths, which can lead to remarkable outcomes
Moreover, authenticity fosters a positive work environment, encouraging others to be authentic as well. This creates a culture of trust and openness, where innovation and creativity flourish. The Harvard Business Review has emphasised the significance of psychological safety in teams, showing that when individuals feel safe to be themselves, they are more likely to take risks and share diverse ideas.
vulnerability allows teams to work together more effectively
In the pursuit of authenticity at work, embracing vulnerability plays a pivotal role. Patrick Lencioni, the organisational health guru, delves into this concept in his book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team." Lencioni argues that vulnerability is a crucial aspect of building trust among team members. When individuals are open about their weaknesses, mistakes, and fears, it fosters an environment of psychological safety. This vulnerability allows teams to work together more effectively, as they can rely on each other for support, guidance, and encouragement. By encouraging vulnerability, leaders empower their team members to be authentic and create a cohesive and high-performing work culture that thrives on honesty and collaboration. In such an environment, individuals feel more comfortable stepping outside their comfort zones, taking calculated risks, and learning from failures, ultimately leading to personal growth and professional success.
So, you can definitely leave your hat on, and absolutely should – It’s Not Unusual!
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Top Tips - FOPO
Fear of Other People's Opinion (FOPO) is like a magnifying glass for fear. We're scared other people will disapprove of us - or worse, laugh at us.
But people notice us less than we think. In an experiment, a group of students were asked to walk into a room wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Barry Manilow's face.
They reported that they felt like half the room was staring at them. In reality, though, only about 20% of the people even noticed the T-shirt.
And it's not just negative things people don't see. The results were the same for people wearing T-shirts with images they were proud of.
The bottom line: we think the world is paying more attention to what we're doing than they really are. We're all egomaniacs!
The world is not standing by ready to ridicule us. They're busy trying to get on with their own lives.
From Stop Talking, Start Doing by Sháá Wasmund & Richard Newton
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1 年A great read Steve, A little story on FOPO, a while ago a psychological experiment was done to see how much people with facial scarring were discriminated against. They took a group of unscarred people and added movie style makeup to them giving their faces the scars of burns victims. This group were then sent into a job interview to see how it would be different to their normal experiences. As they were going in the makeup artist stopped them and gave the make up a final touch up. After leaving all of the group reported feeling discriminated against because of the scarring. However, the makeup artist who touched the makeup up on the way in actually removed all of the makeup. Leaving the group with their usual appearance. Yet all reported discriminatory treatment. The simple fact is, you get what you look for, if that’s you thinking others look at you in a negative way for whatever reason, you’ll find it even when it’s not there.
And as to why I have never suffered from FOPO is that I believe that the only eyes you need worry about are the ones that look at you through the mirror every day, your ability to sleep at night and how your family feels about you....everything else is just gravy
Great as usual Steve, I have an anecdote which digs at the heart of FOPO, not something that has never bothered me ,reasons after. When I was 10 my parents had a pub and one of our family friends, Kath had very prominent front teeth that seemed to come out at an angle almost preventing her from closing her mouth. One night at the bar , Kath started sobbing really hard through her hands you could see the tears coming through. Everyone gathered around her to console and find our what was wrong. She shouted all that pain and nobody noticed!! She had been through a major dental procedure and had new straight teeth put in. It had bothered her for years but we had never noticed, we saw Kath in her entirety, a human being with her personality far negating any of her perceived flaws. It taught me a few major things: As the Chinese say only the wearer knows how badly the shoe fits......We could see he teeth but for Kathit was all she could see. People loo at the entirety of you and your personality. I think this is proved in reverse when "beautiful" but horrible celebrities become pariahs (no names) we no longer see the aesthetic because we see the entirety of the being. TBC