Unlocking Authenticity
Why we hide who we are at work and how to redefine culture from the inside out.
"A rigorous and humane examination of what it truly costs when people cannot be themselves at work, and what leaders must do about it. This book locates responsibility where it belongs: with those who hold power."
Professor John Amaechi OBE
Founder, APS Intelligence Ltd. Professor of Leadership, University of Exeter Business School
What would workplaces be like if we didn’t have to hide?
Akin was fostered as a Black boy into a white family, with an early lesson into belonging.
Rose grew up in a vicarage which layered with her neurodiversity, carried unique pressures for her in the workplace. Craig’s emotions often showed as anger, though what he felt ran far deeper.
Across organisations, talented people constantly adjust who they are. Some adapt. Others suppress who they are entirely. The cost is real. The hidden taxes on identity, energy, mental health, connection, and performance all add up and some pay far more than others.
In Unlocking Authenticity, Shivani Uberoi combines compelling stories, lived experience, and leadership insights to reveal how cultures reward conformity, and what leaders can do to change that. This is a humane, practical guide to reducing the cost of fitting in and creating workplaces where people can show up fully, be themselves, and thrive.