What does it really mean to be authentic at work? In this Other Voices episode, two contributors share very different experiences of authenticity, masking, self-expression, and organizational fit. Their stories explore why authenticity can become easier with experience, how workplace culture shapes our ability to show up fully, and why being multifaceted is not the same as being inauthentic.
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Guest Bios
Jasmine Moseley Beal is the President & CEO of Virtue Key Consulting Group and an award-winning Global Learning & Talent Development leader. Her background includes over 15 years of experience in strategic deployment, merger and acquisition activities, instructional design, leadership coaching, DE&I, succession planning, and performance development. She works alongside CEOs and Executive Leaders who are leading organizations through growth, change, or reinvention and need their people to move with the strategy, not lag behind it. Virtue Key Consulting Group partners with mid-size to enterprise organizations to unlock what Jasmine calls “People Power,” where performance, talent, and leadership development reinforce one another.
Kim Rohrer has spent the last 15+ years running People functions at VC-backed tech companies, typically as the first People leader, building and managing a team over time. She recently worked across a variety of People Leadership roles at Oyster, a fully-remote tech startup with 600+ employees across 70+ countries, creating innovative global People practices and an award-winning company culture along the way. She spent her early career days in theatre, training as a Literary Manager & Dramaturg - skills and experiences that have proven invaluable in her career in tech. She is proud to sit on the board of several companies working to create better futures for working caregivers while continuing to provide strategy and storytelling services to companies and individuals.
Key takeaways
- Authenticity does not require showing up the same way in every circumstance.
- Different contexts may call for different, equally authentic versions of ourselves.
- Experience and confidence can make authenticity feel less effortful.
- Authenticity can create friction when others expect deference, conformity, or silence.
- Self-awareness includes knowing when to speak, when to observe, and when to continue a conversation elsewhere.
- Workplace culture can either punish or celebrate the same qualities in a person.
- Feeling unsafe or unwelcome at work can directly affect focus and performance.
- Skills and interests outside a traditional career path can become meaningful professional strengths.
- Being misunderstood does not automatically mean you are in the wrong environment—or the wrong person.
- Authentic leadership requires both self-expression and judgment.
Timestamps
00:01 – Introducing Other Voices on authenticity
01:20 – Being tired of masking
03:03 – Being rewarded for authenticity
03:38 – The challenges of showing up authentically
05:48 – Different versions of your authentic self
06:17 – Knowing when and how to show up
08:28 – The layers of authenticity at work
10:18 – When workplace culture is not built for you
12:50 – Being told you are not the right fit
14:06 – When authenticity becomes a professional strength
Keywords
authenticity, authentic leadership, authenticity at work, masking at work, workplace culture, organizational fit, self-expression, leadership development, professional identity, workplace belonging
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