A story about a leader with ADHD illustrates how companies that claim to value authenticity can penalize employees for being vulnerable.
Workplaces that reward high performance and resilience often overlook the burnout, grief, and masking that employees endure to succeed.
Understanding that employees carry past traumas and personal histories into their roles is the first step toward building a truly supportive environment.
The workplace can either retraumatize or heal employees, and fostering a strong sense of community creates the safety needed for unmasking.
During difficult times, employees remember how they were treated and validated, not the specific policies in the company handbook.
An audience participation exercise reveals the commonality of masking behaviors and the universal fear of being vulnerable at work.
To effectively support others, leaders must also prioritize their own well-being and intentionally bring joy and play into the workplace culture.
The UNMASK framework provides leaders with six actionable steps to foster understanding, normalize conversations, and build psychological safety.
Moving beyond empathy to relational intelligence helps leaders actively manage relationships and use specific prompts to build trust and inclusion.
32:56Rudi Bauer & Marie Chaproniere
17:15Laura Dückers
29:43Sue Quackenbush
18:15Charlie Pearmond
19:35Ute Neher
32:53Cawa Younosi & Rudi Bauer
31:18Max Hunter
19:50Michelle de Bruijn
Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.
Talentor International