This month we looked at what it means to be ‘authentic’ in the context of living life with disability or physical or mental ill health. We will explored ways in which disability resource group / network leaders as well as allies and champions can support employees to align themselves to their values and goals and live life authentically – and that includes talking account of some of the limitations that disability and ill health can bring and incorporating that into our working lives while losing nothing of our powerful brand as an employee who delivers well.

‘Being authentic’ is incredibly hard to do at work. Ultimately, we trade our time, skill and experience for monetary reward and that means we have to “obey the work rules to get things done” – but for employees with disability it can also mean we have to deliver things in a different way and sometimes spend more time on certain tasks. And some of us may need adjustments in policy or within the physical environment in order to contribute well or even at all.

So, in June we examined what disability employee network or resource group leaders can do to surface a greater understanding as to what it means to be ‘authentic’ in the context of working with disability or ill health.

Be like Branden.

Nathaniel Branden was a Canadian-American psychotherapist and writer known for his work in the psychology of self-esteem and being authentic. In his words, “it is naive to think that self-assertiveness is easy. To live self-assertively--which means to live authentically--is an act of high courage. That is why so many people spend the better part of their lives in hiding--from others and also from themselves.”  In his book The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, he describes his beliefs in the key elements that raise or lower the self-esteem of an individual. The Six Pillars are:

• The practice of living consciously

• The practice of self-acceptance

• The practice of self-responsibility

• The practice of self-assertiveness

• The practice of living purposefully

• The practice of personal integrity

What if your resource group assembled a tribe of ‘authentic evangelists’ to share what they have learnt in their careers? 

By examining and discussing the work of reputable experts working in the field of authenticity and self-esteem such as Branden, what would happen if you convened a small group of employees with disability from among your own networks to discuss what they have learnt through the process of being more authentic as an employee with disability? What would happen if you captured their stories and shared them with others? How might the discussion and learning impact on the delivery of your organisation’s disability strategy or that of the networks / resource groups that you lead?

Learning and development opportunities in June

Our community maximised their PurpleSpace membership by accessing the exciting learning and development activities during this month:

• Members engaged in real time with thier contemporaries by joining one of three Peer Group Learning Sessions where this month where we discussed the pros and cons of surfacing the issues that come with being authentic at work.

• During June we recommened our Purple Confidence range, including how to run a focus group on the subject of inner confidence.

And finally…

We leave you with this quote from Brene Brown from her book Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead – “Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”