Authenticity, Identity, and Being Yourself at Work
Various Contributors
Harvard Business Review Press (May 2024)

“Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” Oscar Wilde

This is one of the volumes in the HBR Work Smart Series, offering insights from cutting-edge thinkers who share their thoughts about how to accelerate your personal growth and professional development.

According to the Series editors, “We’re complete people. Professionally, we’re recent graduates, employees, star performers, and first-time managers. But we’re also best friends, devoted family members, sports fans, plant parents –or any other combination of these and other traits. But how much of ourselves should we really bring to the workplace? This book will help readers figure out how much of themselves they should share so that they can feel more comfortable and confident — and ensure that they are presenting themselves as they wish to be seen.”

This series features the topics that matter most to those now preparing for or are early in their business career, discussing topics “including being yourself at work, collaborating with (sometimes difficult) colleagues and bosses, managing your mental health, and weighing major job decisions. Each title includes chapter recaps as well as links to video. The HBR Work Smart Series books are your practical guides to stepping into your professional life and moving forward with confidence.”

I presume to add that most of the material in these books will also be of substantial value to supervisors who have direct reports entrusted to their care.

The 16 articles were originally published in HBR and if all were purchased separately as reprints, the total cost would be at least $190. Amazon now sells a paperbound volume for only $22. That’s not a bargain; that’s a steaL.

Madison Butler provides a superb Introduction to Authenticity, Identity, and Being Yourself at Work. Here is a brief excerpt:

“Stepping into your most authentic self is n0t without challenges. Learning to show up as the real you will come with hard conversations — with yourself and others. Too often people love the picture of you they have created in their minds, not the actual person standing in front of them. There will be those who do not accompany you on this part of your journey. There will be people who refuse to see you no matter how vibranty you show up.  There will be those who claim to love you when in reality they love only the idea of you. There will be painful goodbyes, and you will grieve them. And you will likely grieve the parts of yourself that you let go because you used them as a shield.”

These are among the articles of greatest interest and value to me:

o  “Getting Comfortable Being Yourself at Work: It’s  easier said than done,”  Lan Nguyen Chaplin (Pages 3-14)

o  “Self-Disclosure at Work: How much should you reveal about your personal life?” Amanda Kersey’s interview of Katherine Phillips (39-45)

o “Do You Ever Second-Guess Yourself? Five tips to help you combat the imposter syndrome,”  Tucci Ivowi (81-88)

o “When You Don’t Feel Comfortable Being Yourself at Work: There may be more leeway for self-expression than you think,” Dorie Clark (105-110)

o “How to Have Difficult Conversations Without Burning Bridges: Confronting others when they go against your values,” Evelyn Nam (133-141)

Once you set or revise your goals, you will be well-prepared to achieve them by effectively applying the relevant knowledge and wisdom that are provided in this book. However, you will also need help from associates and probably some luck such as “being in the right place at the right time.” You also need to know when an opportunity is “knocking on your door,” and be prepared to take full advantage of it. (Sometimers it whispers rather than knocks.) You can also benefit from having role models.  There is a great deal of value to learn from others’ successes and, especially from their [begin italics] failures [end italics]. However, to repeat, your success (however defined) ultimately depends on you.

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Here are two other suggestions while you are reading Authenticity, Identity, and Being Yourself at Work: First, highlight key passages Also, perhaps in a lined notebook kept near-at- hand, record your comments, questions, action steps (preferably with deadlines), page references, and lessons you have learned as well as your responses to key points posed within the narrative. Also record your responses to specific or major issues or questions addressed, especially at the conclusion of chapters.

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will facilitate, indeed expedite frequent reviews of key material later.