Being Yourself at Work: 10 Evidence-Based Coaching Practices

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Being Yourself at Work, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Practices that may help

1. Cultivate authenticity
   Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and show up as who you actually are.
   The Gifts of Imperfection, Made Practical
2. Lower your guard to raise the intimacy score
   Sharing something real about yourself makes others feel safer sharing something real with you.
   The Trust Equation, Made Practical
3. Style-flex without losing authenticity
   Adapt your approach to someone else’s style without abandoning your own.
   Social Style Matrix: Adapting to How People Communicate
4. Stop surface acting
   Recognize when you’re masking emotions at work or in relationships, and find low-cost outlets for what you actually feel.
   Radical Honesty About Emotions, Made Practical
5. Build a credibility foundation before showing vulnerability
   The pratfall effect only works if people already perceive you as competent — so earn that first.
   The Pratfall Effect, Made Practical
6. Lead with generosity, not an agenda
   Enter every networking context asking what you can give, not what you can get.
   Never Eat Alone: Building a Real Network
7. Apply strengths consciously in your most important relationships
   Identify how your signature strengths are showing up — or failing to show up — in the relationships that matter most.
   VIA Character Strengths, Made Practical
8. Learn what each person actually wants from their career and life
   Care personally means knowing the goal behind the job — not just what they’re working on, but why.
   Caring Personally: The Foundation of Radical Candor
9. Use self-deprecating humor — selectively
   Laughing at yourself in a low-stakes moment signals security and reduces social distance.
   The Pratfall Effect, Made Practical
10. Show up for the person, not just the deliverable
    Acknowledge what is happening in someone’s life when it is clearly affecting them — before addressing the work.
    Caring Personally: The Foundation of Radical Candor

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• I’m so used to managing how I come across that I’m not even sure people know the real me→
• I keep everything at work behind a polished, guarded front→
• I get that I should adjust to how different people operate, but when I try to change my whole approach it comes out stiff and fake, like I’m performing→
• I spend all day arranging my face into the cheerful, capable version everyone expects while I feel nothing like it inside, and holding that mask up hour after hour is leaving me hollowed out and weirdly unsure of what I even feel underneath it anymore.→
• I’m new on this team and tempted to lead with how relatable and human I am, but nobody’s seen me actually deliver yet→

Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.