But, Could We Ever "Bring Our Whole Self to Work" (or to the university) ...

 “'I've just come to learn that our opinions at the workplace can come back and hurt us, despite the mantras that we hear like, ‘Bring your whole self to work,’ and ‘Company X or Company Y values debate and diversity,’ he [Terminated at Google for protesting the corporation's business with Israel and chooses to be anonymous] said." - Quoted by Yahoo Finance, in article about ongoing firings of protestors at Google, April 23, 2024

The concept of bringing our whole self to work only has any correlation to professional realities if we were or are fortunate enough to be in an organizational culture that is more or less a fit for our holistic selves. Otherwise, the wise among us took on and continue to take on protective coloring in order to, as the saying might go, "pass for one of them." 

That is exactly why there is so much guidance and actual coaching about creating the right personal brand. The personas I adopted for full-time jobs at a southern-based oil corporation and at a hard-charging Detroit auto one had been very different. 

It was and is rare if anyone could bring the whole self to work. That is exactly why the ambitious ask on professional anonymous networks such as Fishbowl and Reddit how to present themselves when interviewing for positions at elite law firms ranging from corporate Paul, Weiss to the tech-centric Wilson Sonsini. For each, there are nuances in the culture which applicatants have to be aware of - and play to. 

The same applied and applies to the highly political world of academia, once you enter professional and graduate programs. Unlike undergraduate, you can't let it all-hang-out, oblivious to impression management. Very quickly I had to figure out what kind of student/scholar I should present myself as during the doctoral program at an Ivy.

For those who only feel comfortable with a concept after researching it, there is accessible scholarship on all this by sociologist Erving Goffman. His classic book is an oldie (1959) but still useful - "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life." Essentially the message is Shakespearean, that is, all the world is a stage and we are actors on it."

Two years ago I made a major career shift. That entailed the hard work of exiting from the persona of being a "creative" who lived in her head to that of an open professional who could guide human beings toward solutions for their professional, emotional, social and spiritual pain. 

Limiting beliefs? Self-defeating? Stuck? Complimentary consultation with Coach Jane Genova (text/phone 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com)