What does authenticity in the workplace mean, and how do we get there?

A friend and I were talking about the need for authenticity in leadership—and how so many leaders don’t feel it’s safe to be authentically themselves at work. For many reasons.

We were talking about using the word in copy, and I found myself trying to find a different word.

Authenticity’s become a buzzword; I hear it everywhere, all the time. “Authentic” was Merriam-Webster’s word of the year in 2023.

But why do we automatically assume that buzzword = bad?

The word sparks emotion. How to be authentically ourselves—especially at work—is a topic a lot of us get passionate about.

Why? What does authenticity in the workplace really mean?

At the most basic level, it’s about showing up wholly as yourself in interactions with your colleagues, your manager, your clients. But it isn’t that simple.

In a March 2024 Forbes article, “Authenticity At Work: How To Balance Transparency With Professionalism,” author Kathy Miller Perkins, PhD, wrote:

“Workplace authenticity goes beyond being open or truthful; it involves a delicate balance between sharing who you truly are and adapting to the various expectations and unwritten rules of professional conduct. … Authenticity is about being open to discussing challenges and successes, aspirations, and hesitations in a manner that is both relatable and appropriate for the context of the relationship. The subtlety lies in the ability to be genuine within the framework that the professional sphere demands: to show one’s human side, to relate and empathize, all while maintaining the integrity of the role and responsibilities at hand.”

So… there are a lot of constraints around workplace authenticity.

For one thing, it’s almost completely dependent on workplace culture. How do company leaders show up? How do they communicate? How do they respond to others who show up or communicate differently?

Executives set the stage. If company leaders always seem to be playing a role, or if they react negatively to anyone who doesn’t look, sound, think or act in expected or conventional ways, others will take their cue from the top.

What are the organization’s values—and do their actions align with those values?

If “diversity and inclusion” is listed on the company’s website but the only employees who feel comfortable speaking up come from one particular demographic, or the leadership team includes little diversity, or people with various support needs are afraid to ask for accommodation, how can anyone outside that one demographic show up fully as themselves? And even if the organizational culture is unusually supportive and open—a big if—we may not feel comfortable being fully ourselves for other reasons, including beliefs we carry from our family or social upbringing.

What’s the alternative to authenticity at work? To authenticity in leadership? Masking. Hiding parts of ourselves to fit in. Lack of transparency.

All of which can lead to disengagement. Lost productivity. Exhaustion. Mental, emotional and physical health problems. Lose-lose.

So how do we empower people to be themselves in the workplace, remaining mindful of the delicate balance that Perkins described in her Forbes article?

I love supporting my coaching clients as they build self-confidence, find their own voice, step into their authority and their leadership roles more fully. But if the systems they’re working within remain broken, these leaders will eventually leave to find healthier environments, often taking others with them.

Hybrid and remote work provide respite for some—both leaders and employees; a break, at least, from full-time masking or hiding or pretending. But those options are being taken away again by more and more employers: Amazon just announced that everyone must be back in the office 5 days a week, starting in January 2025. Which companies will follow? I admit to being morbidly curious about the fallout. What will Amazon employees decide to do?

Far more questions than answers today! I’d love your thoughts, either in the comments or by DM—do you feel you can be authentically yourself at work? If not, what would make a difference? 

❣️ I have space opening up for 3 new coaching clients in October. Ready to become the best leader you can be, personally and professionally? I’d love to learn about your goals and what kind of support you need to achieve them. Schedule a free discovery call. ❣️