Authenticity and inclusion are two sides of the same coin. Authenticity is to bring your full self – the whole of your humanness – to your interactions with workplace colleagues. To do so is to bear some risk, a risk of exposing yourself, of “putting yourself out there”, of trusting. This requires courage. But to resist doing so bears risk as well. It lacks transparency. It creates a sense of something unrevealed and causes members of teams to feel guarded and cautious. Inclusion interestingly involves the same concept. It means you feel you belong; you feel welcomed and invited despite your differences and whether you make mistakes. So, when you experience inclusion, you can bring your full self – the whole of your humanness to the teams, and group discussions, and decision-making networks of the organization.
This means that authenticity and inclusion mutually support one another. Authenticity supports inclusion by building trust and safety and increasing our sense of what belongs and what is acceptable. Inclusion then supports authenticity by embracing uniqueness and inviting us to bring all of who we truly are into the workplace.
This session explores the value of authenticity, vulnerability, and courage as critical qualities for creating inclusive culture in the workplace.
Learning Objectives