Can You Really be Your Authentic Self at work?

Being yourself is one of the principle foundations of having a trustworthy and credible personal brand but how much of your authentic self can you really bring into professional and business spaces? Is it really safe to bring your authentic self to work and how can you do it? It's amazing how many of us struggle with these questions especially when the parameters of professionalism are so limited and limiting for many people who do not fit into the status quo. I delved into how we can be more authentic in professional spaces and why it takes courage. I also looked at why it's important to be guided and mindful about bringing your full self to work environments.

The keys to being authentic in professional spaces are:Knowing yourself and knowing what it is you want to accomplish: this makes it much easier to be intentional about the work you do and the role you play in professional spaces. Without truly knowing yourself and where you want to go it's easy to lose yourself and your identity in professional spaces.Setting clear boundaries and identifying areas of safety: I absolutely do not believe that we should change ourselves or pretend to be somebody we're not but I also don't think it's necessary to bring your whole self into work or business spaces all the time. I believe that it is important to keep parts of yourself for your personal and private life because those are the parts of yourself which fundamentally carry you through the tough times and keep you going through the great times.  It's important to establish clear boundaries where possible.Build a tribe/community/network: Having a reliable tribe that trusts you and knows you really helps you to be yourself as much as possible but members of your tribe can also advocate on your behalf through the good and the bad times.