I was invited by Servian to speak at their International Women's Day 2020 speaker series on authenticity in the workplace. This talk explored my own journey of learning to confront the fears and challenges that held me back early in my career, to finding self-understanding and the ability to live an authentic life both personally and professionally. Exploring topics such as mental health, queer identity, gender identity and neurodiversity, this talk shared how embracing who I am, and seeing my differences as valuable to my work allowed me to achieve success in my career and establish self-belief. It also offers six ideas for your journey of self-understanding, so you can live more authentically in your work and life.

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Progress over
perfection
Or how to be your weird/awesome self and have a successful
career at the same time
Julia Birks

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This presentation is taking place on the lands of the Kulin Nation,
and I pay my respects to Elders, past and present, and Aboriginal
Elders of other communities who may be here today.
I wish to acknowledge the First Nations people across Australia as
the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are all gathered
to work and live, and note that sovereignty has never been ceded.

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Content warning

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Hi, I’m Julia she/her
Associate Strategic Design Director at Isobar
Capability Specialist
Nerd: Disney, boardgames, videogames, karaoke
Gender non-conforming queer woman
Anxiety, depression, ADHD

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Why authenticity matters at work
● Diverse teams perform better
● Happy employees are 12% more productive
● Managing complexity requires trust
● It just feels better

6. My journey to
authenticity in
six-ish photos

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...what even happened? 😬

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14. Six tips for living
more authentically
in work and life

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Love you, right now,
as you are.

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“I’ve never seen any life
transformation that didn’t begin
with the person in question
getting tired of their
own bullshit."
- Elizabeth Gilbert

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Do the work every day

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Diversify your point of view

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Reframe your challenges
into superpowers

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Progress over perfection

21. 6 tips for living
more authentically
Love you, right now
Check your bullshit
Do the work daily
Diversify your viewpoint
From challenges to superpowers
Progress over perfection

22. Tw: @juliabirks
Thankyou <3
You can get in touch!
julia.birks@isobar.com
http://linkedin.com/in/juliabirks
Twitter: @juliabirks