Here’s why we’re not ready. And what has to happen first. Recently, I sat down for breakfast with a senior leader. I was feeling proud of the work I’ve been doing around unhiding and excited to share it. And then they said, as calmly as they could, “I don’t want anyone on my team unhiding…
Over the past few years, more than 1,100 people in my audiences have answered a question I ask when I speak. Many of those answers look like the postcards you see above. What are you hiding? If something came to mind when you read that question, you’re not alone. When I ask it in a…
This summer, I started painting—with the hand I hid for 25 years. Because sometimes the things we’ve hidden the longest have the most to teach us. Facing the Doubts Truth? I wasn’t sure what would happen. Maybe something beautiful, maybe something that looked like a preschool finger-painting. (Spoiler: some of it did.) And underneath it…
Lately, I’ve been noticing hiding everywhere, at a dinner with TIME, splashed across a full-page ad in The New York Times, and in a candid conversation on Mel Robbins’ podcast. You’ve been spotting it too, sending me articles, podcasts, and movie scenes (keep them coming). Hiding—and unhiding—are everywhere. Once you start noticing it, you can’t…
I remember sitting in meetings early in my career, working so hard to keep parts of myself hidden. I thought it would keep me safe. But by the end of the day, I was completely drained. Recently, after listening to my brilliant speaker friend Cait Donovan talk about burnout and the brain, I started wondering:…
That inner voice. You know the one, right before you do something meaningful, it whispers: “Don’t mess this up.” “Play it safe.” “Maybe don’t speak up this time.” I call it the unreliable narrator. Some call it the inner critic. Or the negative self- critic. Whatever name you give it, you know the voice. And…
