I write about the gap between who we are at work and who we are when we put down the professional mask. Every week, I share one personal story from my life and a podcast conversation with someone who dared to write their own script, choosing authenticity over performance. The podcast is called Unprofessionalism. Each episode comes with a 1-page summary, in case you'd rather read than listen.
Putting ourselves in boxes || π€ Episode 17 on Small Talk Is Big Talk with Julie Brown
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Hi Reader, While cycling in the sun, enjoying my free Wednesday, it suddenly hit me like a sharp stone: Over the past five months Iβve been splitting my identity into tidy boxes that wouldn't overlap. Displaying old Facilitator-me on Substack, while the other part of me hatched a new narrative around Unprofessionalism. Unprofessionalism-me tries to write a book and challenges her own professionalism. And suddenly, I look at myself and think how damn professional of me! Isn't it the most professional thing we do, to compartmentalise ourselves in parts that we curate and display for different audiences? Social media is just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath there are the parts of private us that nobody knows about at work, the professional parts of us that nobody knows about at our evening activities. The adult parts of us that our native families don't know, and the child-like parts of us that our partners miss out on. What for? The separation takes more work and effort, more curation and performance while everyone misses out on the good stuff, the real us, the anecdotes that spark curiosity and connection. I decided to stop that. The compartments that is. I'm trying to merge all these parts to follow through with the word I chose for the year: integrity - aligning the inner world with the outer world. π€ Waiting for you on the Unprofessionalism podcast:Most of us have undersold ourselves at least once. Taken less than we were worth because saying the real number out loud felt like too much, too bold, too presumptuous, too likely to end the conversation before it started. Julie Brown said it out loud. She made up a number on the spot and it changed the trajectory of her entire career. Today, as a speaker, she swears on stage, says no to clients who want her to be someone she isn't, and has built an entire career on refusing to edit herself out. The through line from that salary conversation to where she is now is the same: she decided what she was worth before anyone else confirmed it. π§ Click here to listen to the interviewπ₯ Download my 1-page summaryβUP_017_Summary.pdfβ π§ The workshops work Podcast ClubThe workshops work podcast has retired and I am devoted to preventing the old episodes from gathering digital dust in the archives. The podcast Club keeps the conversations alive. This month, we gather around the question: Who Holds the Pen? Inspired by my conversations with Judy Rees on Clean Language and Ole Qvist-SΓΈrensen on Visual Language. βClick here to find out more and sign up.β That's it from my side. I hope to see you next week! Myriam
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What does it cost to be yourself β at work?
I write about the gap between who we are at work and who we are when we put down the professional mask. Every week, I share one personal story from my life and a podcast conversation with someone who dared to write their own script, choosing authenticity over performance. The podcast is called Unprofessionalism. Each episode comes with a 1-page summary, in case you'd rather read than listen.
Hi Reader, I spent my weekend with a group of strangers to whom I told the most personal story - one that not even my closest friends would be aware of. The shaking of my hands stopped as soon as I started. I didn't need notes because this was my story. While I am used to speaking to groups of strangers, I usually stand there with a specific role: the facilitator. This time, nobody knew about what I was doing from nine to five. All they knew about me was this one story. And wow, that felt...
Hi Reader, Last weekend, I went back to my hometown for the 25th anniversary of high school graduation. I prepared by reading old letters I found in a dusty box, handwritten by friends in 1995. I was terrified. Thrown back to an old version of myself: Puberty-me, who was definitely not too cool for school, who wanted to impress others by smoking too young and drinking too much. Nothing to be proud of, really. But when we finally met and hugged and chatted and laughed, I noticed that the...
Hi Reader, Yesterday was Tuesday, but it felt like a Friday. I am about to wrap things up, clear the decks and get everything in order before shutting the computer. The only reason I am doing this is the fact that tomorrow is Wednesday, and I've decided that Wednesday is now retirement day. Yes! I'm retiring. Not entirely, but for 20%, one day per week. For the next few weeks I'm prototyping what it might feel like to have one full day a week that belongs to no client, no deliverable,...