Hi Reader,

Last weekend I left a workshop in full drag make-up, wondering who I was.

The Archives of Amsterdam had organised it, and I knew a bit about drag from having Charlie Robertson on the podcast (highly recommended, click here to play). He taught me about "work drag": the suit, the meeting voice, the confidence we perform at work. My transformation happened slowly, layer after layer of primer, foundation, highlights and shadows. I looked different for sure, but the transformation only ended when I picked a wig, and then the fake eyelashes, a blazer and a large shiny necklace.

The first persona I turned into could be Claudia. I started walking like her. Grace, confidence. I played with my hair in a way that wasn't me, but also not not me. What I saw was a cheeky side of me, daring, not caring what others think. She makes things happen, even if she needs to bend the rules.

Then I changed the wig and became someone else again. Contessa would fit. She felt vaguely familiar. She was more of an authority. Same confidence, but in a more formal way. If Claudia would kill someone who gets in her way, Contessa wouldn't do it herself. She'd give the order, like the queen in Snow White 🍎

When I stepped out of drag again, a creative energy showed up that I had been missing for weeks. Weeks of client work, proposal writing and all the boring stuff, and two wigs later, there it was.

I might have left both of them at home in those weeks. I was so focused on getting things done, and doing it the "professional" way. Being unprofessional takes time and courage, and on auto-pilot I can't step into that energy. Claudia and Contessa reminded me of that, and brought some of it back.

And it hit me: I want to host an Unprofessional Festival. Onsite, in Amsterdam, exploring what happens to us when we put down the professional mask. And maybe, for that, we first need to put on a new one, and step into drag to find what's below it all.

Funnily enough, the energy even fuelled my Monday morning. Back at proposal writing, but with a different spark, maybe even bringing a bit more of Claudia and Contessa into the work. Less obeying, more exploring.

🎤 Waiting for you on the Unprofessionalism podcast:

This week's conversation with Piero Gandini felt strangely connected to my weekend in drag. I got to play with identities, Piero was handed one: Consul.

On his first evening as a Colombian consul, a colleague asked, "Mr Consul, what do you want to eat?" He answered, "My name is Piero." She was shocked. The team had only ever called his predecessor "Consul".

"The job that I'm doing is not who I am," as he puts it. We talk about why he visited Colombians in prison when others avoided it, why he worked reception during mobile consulates, and why sharing lunch with his team became part of how he led. Some of these choices earned him recognition for innovation. Others made fellow consuls uncomfortable, because his way of working showed what they weren't doing.

What have we dropped to fit a role, and what might return if we brought it back?

🎧 Click here to listen to the interview

📥 Download my 1-page summary

​UP_036_Summary.pdf​

💡 About that festival: before I decide whether it's a go, I want to see what the idea pokes in people. If it pokes something, hit reply. Even a single line helps.

That’s it from my side! I wish you two weeks with enough space to discover which parts of you have been left at home lately.

I’ll see you next time!

Myriam