Thread by @ErinLThomasPhD

I was recently on a panel when an #hr leader encouraged folks from multiple companies to "bring their whole selves to work." No nuance; just an open call to show up fully in the spirit of engagement. Though well intended, this advice is reckless. 🧵/1

I encourage workers from disenfranchised identity groups to critically inspect these types of invitations, especially in the current macro environment./2

In this struggling economy within a charged political landscape; scarcity mindsets, short-term thinking, low risk tolerance and a laser focus on profitability are to be expected. These are not rife conditions for #diversity or authentic individual expression./3

As @MindaHarts says, you belong in every room but not every room deserves you. I'll add to that that not every room, team or org is ready, willing or equipped to receive you in all of your liberated glory./4

To borrow from @Trevornoah, many of us can't afford to F around and find out.

As you build your 2023 vision boards & professional strategies, I offer 3 individual strategies for balancing your birthright to be fully you w/the reality that it may not be safe to do so./5

Strategy #1: Assess your company’s capacity for connection.

Research from @BetterUp shows that 52% of workers want more opportunities for connection./6

Assess where you are on the connection spectrum. Do you want to clock in and out? Be friendly with coworkers? Or build friendships at work? Is your current or prospective company at the same place on the spectrum?…/7

…If not, the mismatch will either pull you to reveal more of yourself than is comfortable or push you to cover up meaningful aspects of who you are. Both can be chronically damaging, so the ideal state is to work in an environment that is aligned with your connection needs./8

Strategy #2: Cover strategically. 

Covering is the process by which individuals downplay their differences relative to mainstream perceptions and everyone does it, including 51% of straight white men. It's adaptive and not necessarily costly./9

Read Kenji Yoshino’s research on the phenomenon, audit the covering demands you experience within your org, assess their respective costs & benefits & make intentional choices about the provisional selves you try on in the various subcontexts that comprise your worklife./10

Strategy #3: Command your workplace story.

If you're working to bring more of yourself to work, you should practice!/11

An exercise that can be beneficial here is developing a few autobiographical narratives that are appropriate for the most common ways in which you (re)introduce yourself at work./12

For instance, you can develop a few short "coffee stories" that you share 1:1 with new team members or direct reports./13

These anecdotes should reinforce your personal values & enable others to get to know more about what drives and matters most to you. The ultimate advantage is telling your story before someone else tells it for you./14

I wish things were easier. I'm also pragmatic and rooting for y'all! 🙏🏾

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