Where are you wearing a mask?

No, I’m not talking about face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And I’m also not talking about Halloween masks, although it is that time of year.

I’m talking about the masks we put on every day to go to work.

Yesterday I had a virtual chat with a new connection who shared a story about an executive leadership training event he ran. He had asked the participants what armor they put on every day to go to work, and what weapon they bring with them.

Zero people didn’t have an answer.

Which means, that EVERY participant felt like they had to wear a mask to go to work.

And in turn, each mask was different.

So today, I’d like to break down a few of the reasons why most people wear a mask to work, and by the end, I want you to ask yourself two questions:

- When am I wearing a mask at work?

- What can I do to remove that mask?

Let’s go.

I Wear A Mask Because Everyone Wears A Mask

There’s a general narrative in society that work is separate from life. Which inevitably convinces us that, if the two things are different, we should show up differently.

Just like you would show up differently to a black tie wedding than you would to play with a toddler in a sandbox, we base our actions on what society expects.

The problem with this is, the definition society has created for work is that it’s “hard”. That it’s “something you do to fund your life”. Work has become a trade-off; that we trade our time for money. And that how we spend that time isn’t part of the equation.

So many people believe this is what work IS. So, they accept it. EVERYONE accepts it.

They put on their suit. They follow the standard career path. Then they get paid more. They get the house. The car. The family. But who they are never enters the equation.

The thing is, what you look at the MW definition of work, “to perform work or fulfill duties regularly for wages or salary”, there’s nothing in there that says you CAN’T bring your personal brand to work with you AND fulfill your duties. But because that’s not part of the general narrative right now, people forget that.

It goes back to the classic, “if everyone was jumping off a bridge, would you do it too?”

Of course not. So don’t just wear a mask to work because everyone else does. You might be able to lead the out of it by example :)

I Wear A Mask to Fit In

This is one of the primary reasons that people wear a mask at work.

In order to be a good “culture fit”, I need to be X.

And again, inevitably, X becomes something that we’re not currently. Something different we have to be.

I’ve been in environments like that myself. Believing that if I just showed up more like my CEO, or that other manager, that my thoughts were more likely to be heard and valued.

Personally, I was even told the classic, “you should be more like ______, he doesn’t get too emotional with feedback”.

Ugh.

The problem is, I’m NOT like them. And that doesn’t mean that I can’t GET ALONG with them to get the job done.

But I don’t celebrate the same. I don’t have fun the same way.

And I’m not SUPPOSED to.

The concept of “culture fit” is creating a space where people try harder to fit in than bring their special gifts to the world. And that’s just silly. It’s imperative that employees know the VALUE of making their unique contribution. The contribution that can only be made by THEM. That bringing their personal brand to work is WHAT makes them successful, not what makes them fail.

I Wear A Mask to Achieve My Goals

This one goes deep on the personal development side. There are a lot of things in life that convince us it would be better if we were more like someone else. We get compared to our siblings when we’re young. Classmates. Teammates. Colleagues. We pit hundreds of people against each other for one job posting. We “compete” for clients as entrepreneurs.

And at different points, we decided we needed to be more THIS or less THAT to:

- make the team

- get that client

- find a job

- achieve that goal

We put on a mask for achievement because we believe that we can’t achieve it simply as we are.

This one also has a huge culture component that goes along with it. And to be fair, there are many systems that have been built around preference for certain races, genders, sexual orientations. And although this is a place where people are currently driving change, there is still a disadvantage to anyone who isn’t a white, heterosexual male.

So, I COULD try to show up more like Donald Trump to achieve my goals. But let’s be honest, is anything I achieve that way actually MY goal? Or another one of those things society told me I SHOULD be.

At the end of the day, if you believe you can’t achieve your goals as yourself, then you WILL always wear a mask at work. And probably not only at work either.

In Summary

Now, these are only three of the millions of different reasons that people wear a mask at work. Everyone has a unique reason for them. That’s why I challenge you with the questions:

- When am I wearing a mask at work?

- What can I do to remove that mask?

When you can figure out when you’re feeling inauthentic at work, you’re more likely to be able to figure out WHY. Is the story yours? Your workplace’s? Your culture’s? Society’s in general?

When you can find out who created the need for the mask you wear, you get to decide whether or not to keep that mask on.

Let me tie in an analogy with a COVID-19 mask; when I wear one, I feel restricted. But I do it because I think it keeps people safe.

Our personal masks we wear because we think they keep us safe. But they are equally restricting. And while they may keep us safe, they DON’T allow us to achieve what only we could.

So this Halloween, before thinking about what mask you’re going to put on, think about which ones you can take off ❤

And if you’re looking for more support in bringing your personal brand to work with you, let’s chat.