Unmask Your Brilliance: Thriving Beyond Workplaces Designed to Hide You

We read all the time about workplace culture and the emphasis on creating an environment where employees are excited and passionate about their work. We talk as leaders about creating engaging and inclusive workplaces, but the disconnect between the talk and the reality is prevalent. Despite all this talk of employee engagement, inclusivity, and the programs built around it, the numbers show that employees feel more disengaged and burned out than ever."Unmask Your Brilliance" by Michelle Bazargan is an insightful lens into the challenges embedded in corporate America's cultural norms and the impact it has on us as humans. Through her extensive experience as a leader, executive, and advisor in the tech industry - in virtually every type of organization from startup to large global enterprise, Bazargan has literally seen it all. Her insider's perspective on the pressing issues of employee disengagement and burnout will no-doubt ring familiar as readers reflect on how they feel about their own workplace experiences. She not only calls it for what it is, but she also offers practical approaches and tangible tools to help the reader break away from toxic corporate mentalities and truly embrace authentic behavior in the workplace.Bazargan's unique set of personal experiences, including overcoming childhood traumas that come with navigating the complexities of being an immigrant, are skillfully woven into into the broader discussion, emphasizing the impact of unconscious traumas on workplace dynamics. Bazargan clearly outlines how confronting these underlying issues is key to our shift towards a more humane, empowering, and creative work environment.This book is not a one-time read that you go front-to-back and then set it down. This book will become an empowering resource for individuals seeking to reclaim their humanity in the emotionally-charged corporate landscape. It serves not only as a critique of the existing challenges but also as a valuable and inspiring guide for individuals to navigate and thrive in the next phase of modern work.

This is such an important new book. I was a leader in corporate America for over 25 years, and what Michelle describes in how our brilliance, our voices, our talents, and our creativity can be suppressed by corporate systems is spot-on. A lot of what she describes resonates deeply with me but never could quite articulate. She explains real-world situations and circumstances in ways that bring these issues to the surface and open the dialogue to talk about how to solve for them with candor and class. I highly recommend this book for leaders of companies, as well as for "good corporate citizens", who are realizing that they aren't feeling satisfaction for one reason or another, and who recognize that we have to evolve to consider the person...not just the "employee." Michelle very eloquently puts a voice to an awareness and arising consciousness that the corporate machine has to change. And it starts with us individually. Be prepared to be inspired, to feel heard and understood and to make some new decisions after reading this excellent book!

I really enjoyed this book and the insight and tools I learned. Many workplaces can be toxic and learning how to not hide and how to lead. This book is a must read for everyone from Gen Z to Boomers in corporate America.

Absolutely outstanding book that will empower you to lead! I couldn’t put this book down. I hope this is the first of many books from this author!