Authenticity in the Workplace: Are You Being True to Yourself?
When leaders model authenticity, in the way in which they handle themselves in the workplace, they notice a culture that produces high-quality results with confident, motivated employees. If staff members can trust that what they are seeing is the true personalities of their leaders, they are more likely to display similar authentic behavior. Hidden agendas and unspoken tactics will dissipate.
As humans we are drawn to authenticity. It becomes foundational when building an engaged employee culture. While it is a natural trait with animals, in this world humans have found ways to mask true feelings to fit in with societal norms. At work, employees may hide their true feelings trying to fit in with management goals, strategies, and rewarded behavior. However, this open, appealing expression which appears so childlike, so effortless and honest, often seems like an anomaly in our adult world. So simple, open, and unfettered, yet it is often suppressed as we bow to the seeming demands of workplace conformity.
Over time, as we have interacted with the people, the institutions, and the world around us, we have learned to conform. To fit it. Yet, often we find that fitting in through conformity is actually forcing us to diminish our best assets and talents. To be authentic is to honor who we are at our very core and share these best talents with others.
In the workplace, failure must be allowed because it is the only way that authenticity can flourish. Mistakes will be made, but if employees feel safe in admitting mistakes, they are more likely to take a risk, to try something new, to find more productive ways to use their talents and work with their strengths. If individuals in the workplace are consistently embracing their true authentic behavior, their reaction to the world around them will be more consistent rather than trying to figure out how they think they should act based on conformity.
In life we all assume different roles and, consequently, we behave in different manners to best accommodate those roles. But it is the honesty and consistency we display and the way we exemplify our inner core that determines our authenticity.
