Your company’s core value is Authenticity, here are 2 ways to embody it!

In uncertain times like these, we often cling to whatever brings us joy or whatever helps us feel that we belong. Often, we can feel safe and feel belonging at home, but what about outside the house and in the other arenas of our lives? The Harvard Business Review reports that 40% of people feel isolated at work and it’s not a stretch to think that number has increased with so many of us working remotely. Consequently, the risk to organizational commitment and employee engagement are dangerously high.

So, what is it that makes employees feel isolated? And how can your company fix that?

First, let’s consider what it means to belong. If we think about our closest friends, these people accept us for who we are and provide us the stage to be our authentic selves. The context allows for belonging and we feel joy at being included. Now consider the workplace – most people try to fit into the role, description, or title they are given, and often the workplace can be filled with unspoken expectations and mixed messages. One team does things “this way,” or maybe feedback from a manager lacks transparency and authenticity. This causes conflict internally and externally, driving us to question how we are supposed to show up; who we are supposed to be today, in this project, on this team.

Brené Brown has said, “authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.”

What we find to be most powerful in this statement is that authenticity is a “collection of choices.” It isn’t just something you can copy and paste to the company website and expect everyone to follow, it is not external to us (we have to be present with it). Authenticity must be how the CEO shows up to work each day. Authenticity must be how your manager conveys feedback back to you. Authenticity must be prevalent in every interaction (both verbal and non-verbal) that is shared with your employees. Authenticity is the key to helping your employees feel that they belong.

So, what can you do to foster authenticity and belonging in the workplace?

Empower your Employees

One of the key ways to foster belonging is to empower your employees by creating a psychologically safe environment for people to express their opinions. The global pandemic will eventually end, and companies will be tasked with transitioning employees back to physical office locations. The question then becomes, how do we do this successfully?

One of the most important things to consider is that the pandemic has had a different impact on each of our lives. A drastic move would be to have the employees return to work without giving them a choice. While it is not feasible to meet every request, giving employees a VOICE in the matter creates engagement and stronger communication. Maybe you send out a company survey or allow the decision to flow down to each team; perhaps you even present each employee with a list of choices and let them decide what works for them. While protecting privacy, it can also boost engagement to show the results of the survey.

This level of transparency fosters trust and promotes the feeling that opinions are noted, and people can be heard. The key takeaway is that your employees feel empowered and that they matter.

Be an Authentic Ally

The second way to foster belonging in the workplace is to be an authentic ally. As Brené Brown puts it, make the “choice to be honest,” and “let our true selves be seen.”  This, of course, starts from the top down. Humans view the world through their individual lenses of experience and learned biases, interpreting every action and phrase through them.  With the COVID-19 pandemic, interactions are limited to web conferencing and instant messenger, leaving lots of room for mis-interpretations of tone, words, silences, etc.  As a result, clear communication with your employees is more critical than ever. Make sure you are honest about everything, share your experiences, be vulnerable about struggles and humble about not knowing.  Apologize for unintended tones (or even intended tones that feel too strong in retrospect).  Make an effort to connect with your employees like never before. Not only does this build culture and trust in general, it will make the return to the office much more enjoyable for everyone and allow for a team spirit to not only survive, but grow while apart.

While it can be easy to post core values to a wall or a website, authenticity goes so much deeper than that. Authenticity is a way of life and a way of business. Authenticity matters because it impacts how your employees show up each day, it impacts levels of engagement, productivity, and your company culture. Authenticity impacts your bottom line. Make authenticity a priority. Foster belonging and cultivate trust. Be an ally with your actions first and your words second.

Don’t tell your organization you are in this together, be in this together.