Being Yourself
To be unprotected is to be human to be approachable. Honest with yourself and others. It’s
not about being weak or submissive or unhinged. Being in a unprotected state is something
that happens organically in our most intimate of relationships, but it’s rarely something we
associate with office behaviour. You’d rather play it cool than admit when something’s wrong
or when you need a hand.
You feel like you can’t falter; you’ve got to have all of the answers—for your boss, your boss’
boss, or your team. You’ve got to act like you’ve got it all together, not admit when things
aren’t going smoothly or when a situation in your personal life is impacting your work.
The truth, however, is that this phase is probably doing you more harm than good,
regardless of what role you’re in or how many people you manage or don’t manage. Instead
of falsely pretending that there’s no problem you can’t handle, what you should be doing is
dropping the professional coolness you think is helping you get ahead, and instead embrace
the opportunity to be unprotected.
Exposing yourself emotionally—whether it’s bringing up an ill parent you’re worried about,
expressing excitement over hitting a personal goal, or admitting to your team that you’re
behind with your work—requires risk, yes, but the payoff stands to be huge.
Being unprotected at work and emotionally available and in tune doesn’t mean you must be
best friends with your colleagues, though there’s plenty of time that suggests forming
friendships with your co-workers can make you happier at work.
“Being real takes courage…Being unprotected means rather than needing to always be the
expert, that we can ask questions when we don’t know something; instead of trying to do it
all, that we can ask for help when we’re struggling; and when things go wrong, that we’re
willing to ask for feedback, take accountability and learn from it.”
The last time when checked, possessing courage was a positive attribute. While it may be
challenging or unfamiliar territory to admit that we all are struggling with any task given —
“What will my boss think?” “Did I just spoil my chances for a promotion?” “Is everyone
smarter than me?”— or opening up about the difficult time you’re going through—it’s also
really freeing. It takes a brave person to put forth his authentic self because of that fear of
being accepted.
Think about it though: If being unprotected with your partner ultimately brings you closer
together—in spite of that sometimes-initial hump of discomfort—why wouldn’t the same be
true of your work relationships?
Again, this isn’t to say that you need to be an open book when you’re by nature a private
person, but if you can manage to be the real you at work (and not just at home with those
close to you), And if getting along with colleagues is likely to lead to career success, it’s kind
of a no-brainer.
Be Happy, Enjoy Life!!
