How to Be Authentic at Work: 3 Practical Monday Morning Moves

Okay, pour one out for glass of the series!

In part one, we talked about the authenticity trap: being told to “be more authentic,” then corrected the second your actual self shows up.

In part two, we talked about self-acceptance, the self-skill that lets you lead as who you are, with professional boundaries you choose on purpose.

Now for the good stuff. What do you actually do on Monday?

These three moves are small on purpose. Self-Acceptance gets built in tiny moments at work, one edit at a time. Pick one this week. Just one.

1. Make “be more authentic” feedback specific

I promised we’d start here, so let’s go.

The next time someone tells you to “be more authentic,” “show more of yourself” or “work on your presence,” don’t nod and write it down. Ask:

“What would that look like specifically?”

Then wait. Make them name a behavior. Do they want you to share your opinion earlier in meetings? Push back more? Talk less from your slides?

Either you walk away with something you can actually work on, or you find out they don’t know either. Both are useful. And you just practiced self-acceptance, because you treated your own development like it deserves clear direction.

2. Sort your edits: Boundary or fear?

Think about the ways you edit yourself at work, and ask one question about each one: am I holding this back with intention, or out of fear?

Not sharing the details of your weekend with your VP? That’s a boundary, and boundaries are healthy. Keep it.

Softening a solid recommendation because you’re worried about how it’ll land? That one’s fear.

Only the fear edits need work. You get to keep every boundary.

3. Close the hallway gap

Think about the last meeting where you had a strong opinion and kept it to yourself. Now think about what you said about it afterward, in the hallway, on Slack, or on the phone with your best friend on the drive home.

That hallway version of you? She’s usually right, and she’s usually clearer.

This week, try saying one hallway thought in the actual meeting. Keep it professional and keep your delivery. Just bring her into the room.

The best leader in the building might be the version of you talking in the hallway.

Self-Acceptance is a practice

You won’t do all three this week, and you don’t need to. Self-Acceptance gets built the same way any skill does: Small reps, over and over, until leading as yourself feels more natural than the performance ever did.

And on the days you slip back into the approved version of you? That’s part of learning it. Notice it, be kind to yourself about it, and try again on Tuesday.

Your team doesn’t need a more polished version of you. They need the one who’s been in the hallway this whole time.

Want help bringing her into the room?

Practicing this on your own is a great start. Doing it with someone in your corner is so much faster.

This is the work I do with women in leadership every day… Noticing the edits, sorting the boundaries from the fear, and building the self-skills that let you lead as you, Monday through Friday. No performing required.

If you’re ready to stop editing yourself and start leading like you, let’s work together!