Why you should not bring your authentic self to work | Jodi-Ann Burey | TEDxSeattle

In this 2020 TEDxSeattle talk, Jodi-Ann Burey explores the nuances of what professionals of color and other underrepresented groups face when they are told to “bring your authentic self to work.” Many who do so may face backlash when navigating company cultures designed around white privilege, exposing themselves to penalties for not conforming to the dominant culture. Burey calls for people of color and other underrepresented people to focus their energies on realizing their own imaginations for racial justice on their terms. Separately, Burey outlines steps toward achieving more equitable and just workplaces, and implores company leadership and people with privilege to accept accountability for changing their cultures.

2:49 - “Professionalism” as code for white cultural norms and standards
6:44 - How authenticity masks the need for systemic change
9:30 - Shares how gaslighting works to deny the realities of people of color at work
11:34 - Explains the work people of color have to do to mask themselves at work
12:54 - A call to action for people of color to create their own spaces for authenticity
13:19 - A call for those with power and privilege to take on the work of changing workplace culture

More to explore:
Check out Janet Stovall’s TED Talk, “How to get serious about diversity and inclusion in the workplace”:

Burey holds a cautious optimism for our future. She explains that “as a Black woman in America, it is always better to be born in the future. There is no place in the past that was better for Black people. I would always want to be born in the future. Though, a portal has been opened to make racial justice and equity possible. There is no promise of that, but it feels good to be in the moment now, when things are shifting.”

[Haechi]

"Easier to be who you are when who you are is all around you". Wow. This hits hard. Thank you, Jodi-Ann Burey!

[fightemploymentdiscriminat]

Thanks for this great talk! It's so true. When I stopped treating co-workers like friends, my life got so much simpler and less stressful!

[cocothela]

As someone with autism, I feel this. They say that they’re open, but they always tell me I’m not quite doing enough. Funnily enough since working from home, they think my attitude has improved considerably. Sidenote; I haven’t changed at all, they just don’t see the social communication issues that come with my autism anymore 😤🤦‍♀️

[PammyR]

This is so true... I’m a straight white female and I experienced this at uni. The program leader asked us to write a strength and weakness test. Being honest I told him everything about me that lead to months of constant harassment, bullying, and down right abuse from him. He destroyed my reputation and almost destroyed me. Never be honest about yourself, I learned that the hard way.

[truelilladi]

"Our bodies are wanted in the room but not our voices"....

[loreenmcintosh]

"You do the work to make it safe for me to come in my full authentic self"
"It is your job not mine....It is your party not mine" .

Listening to this speech before it is released and over and over again, gives me goosebumps every time. It fully articulates my experience and thoughts of being in corporate and the switch in approach required for any real change to happen.

[DonnaTruly]

"We cannot compete in a costume contest, without a costume, and expect to win."

[ultimatelibrarian]

"It's your party, you need to do the work" - that's a really helpful analogy/call to action.

[jacobslife]

"Constricted norms of how I should express myself!" I totally relate to this! I have a neuroatypical mind and people always expect me to be small and fit into their box. I'm done with that! I will always speak up for myself and for those around me. I'm in it with you! Let's transform the world!

[hopesdaughter]

I am a current African American female doctoral candidate for a PhD in Public Policy. My dissertation is on workplace democracy, intersectionality, and African American female workers. This she speaks of is not "all in someone's head" kind of lived experiences, rather this is an empirically backed long-standing phenomenon. Thank you for this video. Peace! (in my authentic self way; which I prefer, and many in my culture, instead of simply saying "Goodbye" 😉)

[ashleyasshire]

Whew!! This really shook me and finally gave me words to describe the feedback that my boss gave me. When she told me that "I should ask more questions, and sometimes pretend that I don't know the answer so I can make other people feel included" she was Darvo'ing me. I nnow have a new tool to combat this. So good!

[roberttschaefer]

An organization must earn the right to ask people to bring their full authentic self. Trust, in all it’s forms, is a result, not an expectation.

[SauceyNoodle]

“Come as you are as long as it makes our marketing material look good”

[biglex]

Being my authentic self made me an awesome worker with no opportunity to grow in that company 🤷🏾‍♀️

[peggyharris]

"Just be yourself" means: Lower your defenses so we can effortlessly exploit you. 😂

[EvaJannotta]

I love this talk. Jodi-Ann's storytelling, her examples, the power of her words... it gives me so much to think about. Can't wait to share this far and wide.

[MissLexiBee]

DARVO is so real. I’m glad to have another name for it. Thank you.

[YogiRed]

Once you experience Corporate America you understand everything she says. If you're not part of the group then everyone is against you and will make your life miserable to the point you want to quit every second of the day.

[t.f.]

Loved this talk. For so many years I felt like couldn't truly speak up in the work "arena" because of everything you named. The funny thing is that if most companies valued people bringing their full authentic, passionate, creative selves to work, the company would actually make more MONEY. I've learned as an entrepreneur that when I was able to play all out in my business my energy was super high and clients were drawn to me. Had I been allowed to be this person in the corporate world, those companies would have really gotten the best of me.

[simmonds]

LOL! I've been with the same Fortune 500 company for over 20 yrs. It's a very common rookie mistake for new employees to try to espouse the proclaimed corporate values that have been dictated to them . Don't be so easily fooled - you have to learn to read between the lines. What they want is for you to "Fit In or F-Off".