I had the opportunity recently to experience an inspiring McMaster Business School Women’s Breakfast session with keynote speaker, Megan Hoernke, Leadership Coach.
With humour, passion, and conviction Megan spoke about authenticity in the workplace and allowing your true self to show up at work.
As Megan shared her real and insightful stories, I thought about my own experiences with authenticity in the workplace.
Looking back over my career, I remember specific situations where I was not true to myself and to my values, at work. Perhaps it’s because I was trying too hard to live up to what I perceived was expected of me.
Perhaps I was afraid to be myself…
In the past I know I have:
- Held back from expressing my opinion,
- Avoided a difficult conversation with a colleague, and
- Refrained from admitting I was struggling with a task.
It’s likely we’ve all experienced moments like this at work—moments where we just didn’t show up.
The real you deserves to have a voice. You’re full of insight, creativity, and energy. Let your authenticity shine.
Here’s why authenticity at work matters:
- Authenticity creates connections and builds relationships. When I feel like the person I am working with is real, I’m at ease and more likely to let my guard down. From this, comes the magic of safe connections and authentic communications.
- Authenticity breeds creativity and innovation. When you are free to be yourself at work, you’ll express your ideas more frequently and find yourself fully engaged in creative, innovative, and strategic conversations with your peers.
- Authenticity enables productivity. It takes a lot of mental energy to hold back your true self. If you let go and allow your authentic self to show up, you’ll be happier, more engaged, and more productive at work.
What does it mean to be authentic at work?
To me, it’s about putting yourself out there and feeling safe doing so. It’s about sharing insight freely, gaining insight, questioning the strategy, and developing the strategy. It’s about acknowledging when you mess up, moving on, learning from it, and being cheered for when you’ve done well.
I’d love to hear your comments on authenticity at work. Are you free to be yourself?
Some companies have this built into their values. It’s a powerful driver to accelerate the potential of each member knowing there is an air of being genuine with each other. In my last company we had a new divisional leader who had accountability for about 50 people. One of the first things HR did was perform a “get to know” session where anonymous questions were submitted and the new divisional leader was expected to answer them. HR was present in the meetings. Questions ranged from strategic business initiatives to personal items. Through the exercise it humanized him and showed he was authentic. Anyone working for him likes his candor because they know his past history and he was open as a book. HR can play an active role by facilitating sessions to “get to know” the new person in an organization.
Great point Harpal. Thank you. Sessions such as these are an effective way for a team to get to know a new leader not only in the context of their leadership role but also as a person. Our work is only one part of us. These conversation go a long way in helping members of the team connect to their leader!
Great post, Liza. For me, this brings up a question. Do people feel that their jobs are more stressful when they are not fully themselves? In my experience, it takes a lot of energy to keep up a persona, and letting go and being more authentic helps me manage my energy and feel more balanced. I’d be interested in hearing if others have had this experience.
Your question made me think about this point and I do recall feeling more stressed when I wasn’t myself. I’d be interested in hearing others thoughts on this too. Thank you Anne.