Authenticity at Work: A Misunderstood Ideal

I recently watched an interview with a high-powered executive coach who has built her career working in spaces traditionally dominated by white men. During the conversation, she offered a piece of advice that immediately caught my attention:

“Don’t bring your authentic self to work. Bring your professional self. You can bring your authentic self to Thanksgiving dinner.”

Her comment made me pause.

Not because professionalism is unimportant, it is essential, but because the statement reflects a growing misconception about what authenticity actually means.

When did authenticity become synonymous with self-indulgence?

When did professionalism become code for emotional distance or cultural conformity?

Before rejecting the idea of authenticity in the workplace, it is worth asking a more fundamental question:

What do we mean when we talk about the “authentic self”?

Authenticity is not about behaving impulsively, centering oneself, or disregarding expectations. At its core, authenticity is alignment, the quiet but steady practice of ensuring that our actions reflect our values.

If we are fortunate, our personal values align with those of the institutions we serve. However, many professionals are aware that this is not always the case. Sometimes we accept roles out of necessity, opportunity, or commitment to a mission that only partially reflects who we are.

Throughout my career, there have been moments when I chose to act in alignment with my values even when doing so carried professional risk. When consequences followed, I did not view them as personal failures. I understood them as signals of misalignment.

I have also worked in environments where acquiescence was valued more than candor, and, as a woman of color, there were times when I withheld my perspective out of fear. Many professionals from historically marginalized groups understand this quiet negotiation all too well.

Yet authenticity does not require rebellion, nor does it excuse unprofessional behavior.

Showing up authentically does not mean saying whatever we want whenever we want. Nor does it mean disregarding workplace norms. Organizations function through shared expectations, including standards for communication, collaboration, and yes, even dress.

Early in my career, I sometimes believed that “speaking truth to power” required urgency rather than strategy. I wrote emails that were honest but not always effective. After one particularly pointed message, a supervisor pulled me aside and said gently, “If you keep writing emails like that, people may not want to work with you.”

At the time, I was frustrated. Eventually, I understood the deeper lesson: if I wanted to influence change, people needed to be able to hear me.

This realization reshaped my understanding of authenticity.

Authenticity without emotional intelligence can become performance.

Authenticity without awareness of context can limit our effectiveness.

Over time, I came to embrace what I now consider strategic authenticity — expressing one’s values with clarity while remaining attentive to timing, audience, and impact.

This is not capitulation.

It is leadership.

Yes, there were moments when I felt compromised, even complicit. But I had chosen to work within imperfect institutions, as all institutions are. If I wanted to serve effectively and create meaningful change, I needed relationships built on trust, not just conviction.

And in the long run, this approach mattered. I was able to help implement changes that aligned more closely with my values, and colleagues recognized the care with which those changes were introduced.

Authenticity and professionalism are not opposing forces.

The strongest leaders integrate the two.

Today, working as an artist from home, authenticity feels effortless. But institutional life taught me something invaluable:

Alignment matters, but so does discernment.

We must learn not only what to say, but how to say it.

Not only who we are, but how to express that self in ways that expand possibilities rather than close doors.

Recently, I was reminded of this while watching an artist perform on one of the world’s largest stages. His performance was unmistakably his: culturally grounded, expressive, and values-driven, yet it was also disciplined, intentional, and deeply professional.

Authenticity did not diminish excellence.

It elevated it.

Of course, not everyone will resonate with another person’s values. Alignment is never universal. But disagreement does not negate authenticity, nor does it diminish the quality of one’s contribution.

Perhaps the real misconception is this:

Authenticity is not about bringing your whole self into every space without reflection.

It is about bringing your integrated self — grounded in values, guided by wisdom, and expressed with care.

Because authenticity, when practiced thoughtfully, is not self-centered.

It is a form of courage.

In workplaces and in leadership, courage is never unprofessional.