To truly succeed, especially in today’s business world, we must bring our whole self to work.
But bringing our whole self to work isn’t just about us. It’s also about the teams and organizations that we’re a part of. Showing up authentically helps teams thrive and is also essential in creating an environment where people feel safe enough to bring all of who they are to work.
Why It’s So Important to Bring Your Whole Self to Work
The lines between our personal and professional lives have blurred more than ever in recent years, especially given all we’ve been through.
Bringing our whole self to work means showing up authentically, leading with humility, and remembering that we’re all vulnerable, imperfect human beings doing the best we can. It’s also about having the courage to take risks, speak up, ask for help, connect with others in a genuine way, and allow ourselves to be truly seen.
But it’s not always easy for us to show up this way, in general, and especially at work. It also takes commitment, intention, and courage for leaders and organizations to create environments that are conducive to this type of authenticity and humanity.
By Bringing Your Whole Self to Work, You Can Impact the People Around You
When we bring our whole selves to work, not only are we more likely to create success and fulfillment for ourselves, but we’re able to have the greatest impact on the people around us. It creates a culture that encourages us to show up fully and allows us collectively to do our best, most innovative work together.
I’ve spent over two decades as a speaker and consultant, partnering with people, leaders, and teams in all types of companies. I’ve witnessed numerous instances highlighting effective and ineffective strategies for achieving success and fostering engagement among individuals, managers, and organizations. Additionally, in my personal life and career journey, I’ve grappled with fears, doubts, insecurities, and an unwarranted fixation on seeking approval. My dedication to authenticity and bringing my whole self to both work and life is an ongoing practice that is both challenging and important.
I’ve witnessed, experienced, and learned a great deal through my own work and with my clients over the years. Of course, every work environment is unique. Being at Google in the heart of Silicon Valley is quite different from working for the City of San Antonio in Texas. Working for ourselves out of our spare bedroom in Ohio is also very different from leading a global team at Microsoft while being based in Europe and traveling internationally all the time.
However, regardless of where you work, what kind of work you do, or with whom you do it—bringing your whole self to work allows you to be more satisfied, effective, and free. And if you’re an owner, leader, or just someone who wants to have influence on those around you, having the courage to lead with authenticity allows you to build or enhance your team’s culture in such a way that encourages others to bring all of who they are to work—which will unlock greater creativity, connection, and performance for your group and company.
5 Things You Can Do to Bring Your Whole Self to Work
Here are five specific things you can do to both bring all of who you are to work and empower the people with whom you work to be as effective, successful, and engaged as possible:
1. Be Authentic
The foundation of bringing your whole self to work is authenticity, which is about showing up honestly, without self-righteousness, and with vulnerability. It takes courage to be authentic, and it’s essential for trust, growth, and connection.
2. Utilize the Power of Appreciation
Appreciation is fundamental to building strong relationships, keeping things in a healthy perspective, and empowering teams. Bringing your whole self to work is about being willing to be seen, and also about seeing and supporting the people around you, which is what appreciation provides.
3. Focus on Emotional Intelligence
Your emotional intelligence (EQ) is often more important than your skills, IQ, and experience—in terms of your ability both to manage your relationships and bring your whole self to work. EQ is both about you (self-awareness and self-management) and about how you relate to others (social awareness and relationship management).
4. Embrace a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset entails approaching both your professional endeavors and life in general with the belief that improvement is possible through dedication, hard work, and consistent practice. It involves viewing every experience, particularly challenges, as valuable opportunities for growth and learning.
5. Create a Championship Team
The people you work with and the environment around you have a significant impact on your ability (or inability) to fully show up, engage, and thrive. And at the same time, the more willing you are to bring your whole self to work, the more impact you can have on others. Creating a championship team is about building a culture that is safe and conducive to people being themselves, caring about one another, and being willing and able to do great work together.
These concepts are fairly easy to understand on the surface. But like many important aspects of life, growth, and business, it’s not the understanding of them that makes the biggest difference, it’s their application. And, the application of these ideas takes real courage. We have to be willing to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is about showing your emotions, taking risks, and diving into uncertainty.
The activities, relationships, and goals that matter most to us (both personally and professionally), are always going to involve emotional exposure, risk, and/or uncertainty.
Are you willing to lean into vulnerability and to bring all of who you are to work? If so, you can expand the impact, influence, and success of your work and your life.
Portions of this article are excerpted from the book Bring Your Whole Self to Work, by Mike Robbins, with permission. Published by Hay House (May 2018) and available online or in bookstores.
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This article was originally published in 2018 and updated for 2023.
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