Recently, I was asked in an interview what my favorite business quote is. Immediately, this popped into my head:
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde.
Hands down, this is my favorite quote. It hangs in my office so there’s a constant visual, and it keeps my mindset grounded.
“Ok, Mike, but how does this apply to my business?”
The concept of being true to yourself isn’t groundbreaking. But, it is universally applicable, and can be groundbreaking in your business if you implement being authentic in your company. To me, the old way of thinking is that in business, you must play a role and leave who you innately are at the door. The result is that employees spend an incredible amount of energy playing a part in their career. From calculated conversations and body language, to dressing the part, to acting outside of our own character, how do we know when we’re being professional, or if we’re not being ourselves at all?
As I reflect on the elements of what created The Great Resignation, I feel the personas some employees put on creates work anxiety, exhaustion, is ineffective, and detrimental to employee health and well being.
It comes as no surprise that studies have shown that when we hide our true identities, our professional performance is impaired. Work anxiety is increased and careers can become stagnated when there is fear of being judged. Let’s face it, we do not give our best when we’re anxious.
It’s when we try to serve expectations of others opposed to expectations of ourselves that we are compromised. The crummy thing about fitting in is that you might (maybe) be liked by everybody – except yourself. And you cannot truly be of service to others if you don’t truly like yourself.
My point? When we lean into who we naturally are, that’s the good stuff. That’s when we excel. A good leader knows that cultivating an authentic work environment is crucial for a healthy business.
This is all great, right? Now how do you implement this in your business? Guess what? It’s up to the leadership (is that you?) to cultivate an authentic work environment.
The benefits:
- It’s a matter of trust. Being authentic at work shows others that you can be trusted. If you’re the leader of your team, walk the walk to encourage others to follow suit of being their authentic selves. Where there is a higher level of trust, there is greater employee dedication and loyalty, which leads to greater productivity.
- Goodbye burnout. When employees don’t feel like they have to fake it till they make it, they’re less stressed out, and employee satisfaction is increased.
- Unlock potential. When your team is comfortable to be themselves, they take more risks, are more creative, speak up and are more empowered to problem solve/find solutions.
- More brain power. Numerous perspectives generate better ideas.
- No more Monday blues. Your employees may run around telling others how awesome their workplace is because the authentic company culture rocks. Everyone feels more at ease.
The implementation:
- It starts with you. You set the tone. Be sincere when encouraging your team to feel comfortable being themselves by creating the example of what you want. Share a story about yourself and show your personal strengths, so your team does the same without fear of being ostracized.
- Role alignment. Job descriptions are great and all, but if someone comes to you with a valuable skill that benefits your company, for the love of everything holy, please create or adjust a role to fit those talents. When your employees are thriving, so is your business.
- Increase employee engagement. The type of company you operate will determine if you can have in person meetings, lunches, and the like. Since we work off a hybrid model here, we have “morning huddles” with our big goals for the day and a personal update.
What’s crucial for leaders to recognize is that If you want your business to prosper, the well being and sense of belonging of your employees must be nurtured.
I’m looking forward to witnessing a huge shift in leadership. You’ve hired humans. Lead like one.
-Mike
