Why you should bring your whole self to work
-
0:00 - 0:04A leader is steady, firm,
decisive, unwavering. -
0:04 - 0:06Never let 'em see you sweat,
always have an answer. -
0:06 - 0:09[The Way We Work]
-
0:11 - 0:14My name is Dan, I'm a partner
at a global creative consultancy. -
0:15 - 0:17But there's another side to me:
-
0:17 - 0:19Carrie Dragshaw,
-
0:19 - 0:21the character I created on Instagram.
-
0:21 - 0:25As I thought about my double life,
I couldn't help but wonder ... -
0:25 - 0:29When your true self
is a little nontraditional, -
0:29 - 0:31how much of it can you really
bring to the office? -
0:32 - 0:36For some of us is authenticity off-limits?
-
0:37 - 0:39For the first 10 years of my career,
-
0:39 - 0:42I thought there was
one way to be a leader: -
0:42 - 0:44decisive and serious.
-
0:44 - 0:45But that's not me.
-
0:46 - 0:49So I'd put on basically
office drag to fit the role: -
0:49 - 0:52I'd talk in a deeper voice,
try to hold in my hand motions. -
0:52 - 0:55I'm someone who gets
really excited about things, -
0:55 - 0:56so I'd temper that.
-
0:56 - 0:59I had this little voice
in my head, telling me, -
0:59 - 1:03"You're too gay,
too feminine, too flamboyant." -
1:03 - 1:06I had one well-intentioned
adviser who said, -
1:06 - 1:08"Everyone knows you're gay.
And that's great. -
1:08 - 1:11But you don't need to beat them
over the head with it." -
1:11 - 1:16Cut to: me in a tutu, for Halloween 2016.
-
1:16 - 1:19I dressed up as my favorite
TV show character, Carrie Bradshaw, -
1:19 - 1:22thinking my friends
would get a kick out of it. -
1:22 - 1:24And then, things got crazy.
-
1:24 - 1:26The post went viral,
and at first it was pure fun. -
1:27 - 1:30I started getting these incredible
messages from people -
1:30 - 1:31about how happy it made them,
-
1:31 - 1:34how it encouraged them
to be their authentic selves. -
1:34 - 1:35And I started to think,
-
1:35 - 1:40maybe this is the time to tell that
little voice in my head to just shut up -
1:40 - 1:42and let myself be me.
-
1:43 - 1:45But then things got a little too big.
-
1:45 - 1:48Carrie Dragshaw was everywhere --
In the "New York Post", "US Weekly" -- -
1:48 - 1:50and I got terrified:
-
1:50 - 1:51"What would my bosses think?
-
1:51 - 1:53Would my coworkers
still respect me as a leader? -
1:54 - 1:55What would my clients think?"
-
1:55 - 1:58I thought I was going to have to
get a different job. -
1:58 - 2:01But then, something happened,
something small. -
2:01 - 2:04I got a text from my boss,
it wasn't long, it just said, -
2:04 - 2:05"Wow, Cosmo!"
-
2:05 - 2:09With a link to an article
that had just gone up about me. -
2:09 - 2:12And it let me put that little,
scared voice away -
2:12 - 2:14and just be excited
about this whole new world, -
2:14 - 2:16rather than freaked out.
-
2:16 - 2:18That's the power of one person,
-
2:18 - 2:22sometimes all it takes is one ally
to make you feel comfortable. -
2:22 - 2:24And my coworkers
started acting differently. -
2:24 - 2:27They became more open,
more playful with me, -
2:27 - 2:29it was as if knowing this other side of me
-
2:29 - 2:32gave them permission
to be more of themselves as well. -
2:32 - 2:35I thought that openness and vulnerability
-
2:35 - 2:37would actually decrease
my standing with my team. -
2:37 - 2:39But it's done the opposite.
-
2:39 - 2:41Two years in,
-
2:41 - 2:45I never could have imagined that this
part of me would not just be embraced, -
2:45 - 2:47but could actually help my career.
-
2:47 - 2:49Now, I'm lucky.
-
2:49 - 2:50I work in New York City,
-
2:50 - 2:53in an office where creativity is valued
-
2:53 - 2:57and I was already pretty established
in my career when all of this started. -
2:57 - 3:00Maybe that's you, maybe it isn't.
-
3:00 - 3:02But all of this has taught me so much
-
3:02 - 3:05about just the importance
of bringing your whole self to work. -
3:05 - 3:08And it's really challenged
my own misperceptions -
3:08 - 3:10about what it takes to be successful.
-
3:10 - 3:12There's no one kind of way to be a leader.
-
3:12 - 3:16It's about finding your strengths
and finding ways to amplify them. -
3:16 - 3:21Before, if a meeting was hard,
I'd put on my perfect leader mask. -
3:21 - 3:24Now, I can say,
"Gosh, that was frustrating." -
3:24 - 3:28We can talk about challenges
and struggles in an open way, -
3:28 - 3:32rather than everybody pretending
that they're fine until it's too late. -
3:32 - 3:34Concealing an identity takes work.
-
3:34 - 3:38Think of all the wasted energy
spent pretending, -
3:38 - 3:40wishing you were someone different.
-
3:40 - 3:44What's most interesting to me, though,
is that in this big study of covering, -
3:44 - 3:4793 percent of those
who say they're doing it -
3:47 - 3:50also believe their organization
values inclusion. -
3:50 - 3:55So clearly, our workplaces
and all of our strange inner voices -
3:55 - 3:57have a long way to go on acceptance.
-
3:57 - 4:02There's a big difference
between adapting and disguising. -
4:02 - 4:04And I think I learned that a little late.
-
4:05 - 4:08Personally, I'm taking all of this
as a call to be the ally -
4:08 - 4:10who, like my boss did for me,
-
4:10 - 4:12lets people know that it's OK to open up.
-
4:12 - 4:15If you're gay, or proud
of your ethnic background, -
4:15 - 4:18or have a disability
or are deeply religious, -
4:18 - 4:21see what it's like
being your full self at work. -
4:21 - 4:23You might be pleasantly surprised.
- Title:
- Why you should bring your whole self to work
- Speaker:
- Dan Clay
- Description:
-
Dan Clay was worried about being dismissed as "too gay" at work, so he dialed down his personality. But then his alter ego, Carrie Dragshaw, went viral online. Here's what happened next.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED Series
- Duration:
- 04:51
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why you should bring your whole self to work | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why you should bring your whole self to work | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for Why you should bring your whole self to work | ||
Brian Greene accepted English subtitles for Why you should bring your whole self to work | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why you should bring your whole self to work | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why you should bring your whole self to work |