QUEENS — Former U.S. Secret Service special agent Evy Poumpouras spoke in Queens, N.Y., stating that individuals should not bring their "authentic self" to work. Poumpouras advocated for professionalism and team cohesion in the workplace.

Poumpouras, who served in the Secret Service from 2000 to 2012, protected U.S. presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and George H.W. Bush. During her service, she worked as a polygraph examiner and interrogator. Her remarks emphasized a preference for professional qualities over personal authenticity in a work setting.

"Don't bring your authentic self to work. I don't want your authentic self to work. I want your professional self. I want your respectful self," Poumpouras said. She added, "I want your empathetic self. I want your competent self. You can bring your authentic self to a Thanksgiving meal with your family if you'd like to."

Poumpouras added that bringing one's authentic self leads to "sloppiness." "Everybody's doing their own thing. That's not a team," she said. She explained, "If you're team-oriented, you leave your authentic self here, and you bring your genuine self, who genuinely cares about the mission, who genuinely cares to do a good job, who genuinely knows that it's not about you, it's about the collective team."

Ryne Sherman, chief science officer at Hogan Assessment Systems, said that "bringing your authentic self to work could get you into trouble." He also noted, "When we resist doing those things, we are being inauthentic. We're not responding in a way that is consistent with our true feelings."

Cynthia S. Wang, a researcher at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, discussed the distinction between authenticity and inclusion. "What we're talking about is actual authenticity—the ability to express yourself—which is slightly different from the idea of inclusion," Wang said. She added, "You can include somebody in a meeting, for example, but they still may not feel comfortable with being authentic and speaking up." Wang and her co-researchers published their findings in March.