Showing Up Authentically in the Workplace
As the pandemic moves on, and people have had time to consider their future, their career or business and leadership, I’m seeing a shift in the patterns. Showing up authentically in the Workplace has not been very visible. In the past people tended to segment themselves into different categories. The work YOU, the family YOU, the MUM, the DAD, the DAUGHTER, the FRIEND. At work we would hide different parts of ourselves to suit the environment we are in. For example in the past when I’ve worked in masculine environments, I needed to remove allot of my emotional and feminine self. As a senior leader I needed to hold my place and respect. This wasn’t a company rule as such, it just was the culture. I saw it time and time again, when emotions were shown, the boys didn’t know how to handle it. So I shut them down. Over time I lost ME totally, and I felt lost. I remember feeling disconnected and not comfortable. It wasn’t until I left the business that I realised what I had been doing.
I have seen the same process in so many people that I work with. As a coach it won’t to help others to shine. To show their true self – hence the reason I talk about authentic leadership, and leading from within, so often. I’ve seen people step into the office and become “office me”, then spend time thinking and unravelling during their commute to back home or to the gym where they would become “family me” or “fit me”. Then on the weekend they would visit parents and become “child me”. Each time they moved into a different environment they would share another part of themselves. Yet working from home, over the pandemic, has changed this.
Showing Up Authentically means we the wearing of many hats daily, are becoming one, and morphing together. When you are working from home you become a more vulnerable person, people see all sides of you at once. They see your home, kitchen or maybe spare bedroom whilst online. This online presence shares a bit more of your person, in your family, with your work.
In coaching I would ask people when they were stuck:
- Who would you need to be in order to do that?
- What parts of you need to show up to do that?
You are just YOU. The answer I was seeking for them to find was that they just need to be themselves, and to stop hiding that real person from their community.
During the pandemic people are finding out about their relationships, the true ones we actually have. They’ve realised that in the past relationships were transactional, and were rather superficial. The deepening of conversations can now take place that people are not commuting, and they have time to slow down. This allows the energy transfer of connection, and the realisation of the true relationship.
The lack of micro managing and people dropping in at your desk that creates constant distraction. This allows your mind to really concentrate and complete tasks. Productivity is higher than it’s ever been.
In my experience whilst fully employed in a very busy senior leader’s role, I negotiated working a day a week from home. At the time I know from brief conversations I heard that others in the office considered me to be a slacker, and I would hear people take the mickey of me. The fact was I got more done during those days at home, then I did when I was in the office. The distractions were lower, and I could choose when I read emails, or who I took calls from. For me it was a very productive time, yet sadly after some months HR called me in and said I needed to show up in the office 5 days per week.
Today though, this is becoming the new norm. And people are realising the benefits of working from home and the productivity that people achieve. As leader, it is your role to embrace it, and make it work for your team. Allow others to be authentic, and show up from home and the office. It will build trust and confidence in your leadership.
The world is a buzz with the term “the great resignation” yet I’m not sure it is actually happening. I feel from my clients, they have a new sense of purpose, and connection. Yet they aren’t so much moving on. They are starting to speak up and feel empowered to demand change. So if you are confronted with staff who are feeling empowered, then you need to be prepared to take action.
Listening to what people are saying, is important. It will give you the knowledge of what is happening on the shop floor, so to speak. By listening and asking questions to clarify your thoughts you come up with some fresh ideas, some new perspectives that can take you and your business forward.
Truly understanding yourself, brings your authenticity. We have fear in the revealing of our normal state. Fear that people will not like us, respect us or whatever thoughts we offer ourselves.
We all need to work on our authenticity. It’s a daily practice of self-awareness, and reflections. Stretch yourself, listen, create new habits and grow. Your leadership needs you to be authentic.
Success is a journey, rather than a destination.
Showing Up Authentically
Who is me? The pure me in an unfiltered state?
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