Hey Reader,

I spent last Tuesday cleaning out the garden shed in the company of a Robin who ate up all the insects that were evicted from the dark recesses. One of those really satisfying home jobs that I put off for years and then wonder why I delay it.

But let’s talk being authentic …. a hot-trend in corporate culture speak. Easy if everyone in the office looks and sounds like you.

What if you had to CHOOSE between being the REAL you and success in your corporate career?

What if you had to CHOOSE between being the REAL you and success in your corporate career?

‘Be your authentic self’ is a hot-trend in corporate culture speak. Easy if everyone in the office looks and sounds like you.

Being the only women in the room for many years of my corporate career, I adapted my style. Early on, I’d even admit to being laddish just to fit in, because I didn’t believe being ‘just’ me was enough.

But there are far greater stories of suppression of the human soul.

Imagine being a transgender woman, in a senior leadership position in a tech firm?

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​That’s the story we learn more about this week on Unsaid at work.​

My guest is Amethysta Herrick, a transgender woman who held senior leadership roles in the tech industry for over 25 years.

For all of her career, she presented as a man, because as she says, “I had to squish myself to be part of the American dream”.

This is a heartwarming conversation about balancing feminine and masculine traits in leadership, challenging conventional ideals of professionalism, and the importance of one’s own identity for well-being.

Now retired from corporate America, Amethysta is a podcaster, writer, and educator who wants us to ALL to know that our identity is ours alone.

Society can lay no claim to the person we know we are.

May we all be inspired Amethysta’s story and perhaps bring a little more of ourselves to work.

Here’s to you finding spaces to be fully you.

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Catherine

P.S. What house chore are you putting off?

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