Inauthenticity in the workplace can harm diversity and inclusion

Leaders are often faced with being their authentic self or doing what it takes to succeed. Decisions taken by senior management in the face of this authenticity dilemma can set a negative example for their juniors. This can be particularly insidious for people from underrepresented groups who may feel the need to suppress their identity to progress in their career. Professor Patricia Faison Hewlin calls this putting on facades of conformity, and Herminia Ibarra mobilized the concept in the Harvard Business Review to encourage white senior leaders to share more of their own experiences with the junior employees they are mentoring.