Should you worry about not being yourself at work?

If you missed us last week, we missed you too.

We are now releasing our podcast every Thursday, so we’ll be sharing these musings on how to be human-centric leaders on Tuesdays.

I’ve been pondering a lot about what it means to “be yourself” at work. After years of aging myself with clothes, makeup, and jewelry thinking that looking older would make me worthy of respect, no matter what I did, I just looked young.

That’s when I realized, it’s not about being your best self. It’s about being yourself at work.

Bringing your whole self to work is essential to the leap into the Human-Centric Era, where empathy, kindness and compassion lead fully human leaders.

Authenticity is valued in the workplace more than ever before. In fact, many CEOs from leading companies around the globe have committed themselves to advance diversity and inclusion, encouraging employees to be their real selves at work.

According to the BBC, studies show when people feel comfortable expressing themselves at work, they are more productive and creative and also happier. This is not just fluff. Companies are winning awards, keeping their A-player talent and retaining their customers because of it.