Be You.
The compliment I receive most often is some combination of how ‘open, honest, transparent, and vulnerable, I am. People who have known me for years will say it. People who have known me for minutes will say it. It always makes me smile and warms my heart to know that my commitment to being my true self often shines through. Yet, I also have this odd twinge when I hear those kind words, so I wanted to share a few personal observations about authenticity.
Recently it dawned on me – that twinge is a deep worry. The quality I believe matters most – being our true selves in all situations - is sadly UNIQUE. If it weren’t, people wouldn’t go out of their way to comment on it, and that led me to a second realization: The majority of us just don’t feel like we can be ourselves - especially at work.
My personal experience has led me to believe that the effort is worth it.? I have worked hard to never veer from who I am, what I stand for, or what I believe in. I’ve not played politics in my life (a fact I verified with my husband just to be sure ;). It is true that the costs can feel steep at times (for me, they included getting fired twice; being belittled and screamed at by an executive peer for years; and often needing extra effort to prove my toughness because my personality was ‘soft’). I get that it’s hard. I get that it’s sometimes easier to act how you think those in power expect you to; to just tell people what they want to hear. In the heat of the moment - authenticity just might not feel like it’s worth the trouble.? But I can look in the mirror and be happy with how I’ve conducted myself - and when you view success in those terms, there’s no question in my mind that the benefits far outweigh the costs.
My challenge to you, because I know the reward, is that you ‘BE YOU’ 100% of the time - and not just for your own good. There is no one on Earth quite like you, and the world deserves the unique gifts and perspective that only you can bring.
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BE YOU 100% of the time - and not just for your own good. The world deserves your unique gifts
When you look back on your career, the moments you’ll cherish most are the ones in which you followed your heart - If you want to try and ‘Be You’ more of the time, here are a few strategies that might help
Beyond the ability of being able to look yourself in the mirror, I believe Being You leads to a better and more fulfilling career. I have had more than one example of standing up for what I believed in where the immediate results felt horrible.? But you know what? Those moments opened up new and better opportunities that I would have never have even seen, let alone landed, so in the end I was grateful.
So why not give it a go???
Helping companies harness the power of data | Supporting next-gen tech leaders
2 年Jackie Yeaney as always, so well put.
Policy Research | Evidence-based Writing
2 年Excellent, insightful read. So much to ponder and digest!
Dedicated to creating greater access to Food as Medicine; CEO of Open Hand; Interim Chair of Food Is Medicine Coalition Advisory Board; Leadership Atlanta Class of 2018; Past President of Meals on Wheels of GA Assoc.
2 年Oh wow. So many thought-provoking and major nuggets of wisdom within this post. And I didn’t completely realize it, but I needed this wisdom. When next we see each other (we need to make that happen!), I would love to expand on this conversation. And by the way, whether you know it or not, you are on my personal Board of Directors. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that. ??????
CHRO I Partner I Talent Transformation I Culture I EX I People Analytics I Digital I AI I Skills I Futurist & Speaker I MIT Researcher
2 年Jackie Yeaney another authentic piece, the one you have always lived for.Thank you for sharing the steep price at times we need to pay for our values and just being ourselves. But like you say, it is a soul to nurture and a life to live and serve and it can’t happen with an empty heart. Heart filled with joys and sorrows?? of being one’s whole self makes us unique!
Senior Executive Assistant to CMO, CPO, CIO, CFO, Sales VP / Event Manager / Conference Planner
2 年Thanks for sharing!