36: Elaine Chung on The Illusion of Authenticity at Work
Authenticity is one of those words that's thrown around.
It's definitely in the category of overused.
But, is this the case only because many people don't understand it?
Today's guest, Elaine Chung, realized that while at work, she wasn't mixing the different layers of herself. Instead, she was suppressing them.
And in 2020, when she had three kids at home, she noticed the differences in watching her twins play (which she hoped they'd do more of so she could get her work done at home). She'd see one twin play with one thing for 20 minutes, which, according to her research, was actually a very long time for a little one. And then her other kid would play for literally like five seconds.
While most parents would say, "Oh, they're just different," that reasoning wasn't good enough for Elaine. She needed to know why.
With that curiosity, she went down the rabbit hole of research papers and spoke with researchers themselves to understand that there are different bodies of science around, personality development, early childhood development, and understanding the neuroplasticity of the brain.
This led her to explore play, and when a friend asked her a pivotal question, she realized that she didn't want to continue down her career path and become CCO at a digital health startup or even a chief marketing officer.
Reflecting on the bravery of her kids, she wanted more of that, too. After leaving corporate to start her business, she began to wonder how people embraced their diverse identities. This curiosity led her to submit a TEDx in Asheville, where she was selected, and she soon realized there was much more to explore on this topic.
You'll love hearing how Elaine approaches her book writing with experiments and research, and the baby steps she took to increase her writing output in the early days of book writing.
What you'll hear about:
How Elaine's book, The Illusion of Authenticity, challenges traditional notions of authenticity, encouraging leaders to build connected, high-performing teams by embracing their full, "mixed Play-Doh" identities.
Her brave leap of faith into entrepreneurship after 20 years in the corporate world, driven by her passion for play research and to be a brave example for her 3 kids.
Elaine's book-writing process started with a mom's writing group, with stream-of-consciousness writing to overcome initial hurdles.
Her journey from writing once a week for about 6 months to publishing her book within a year.
Integrating our various identities, rather than compartmentalizing them, and honoring our full selves — including our values and principles — shapes how we operate in our home lives and at work.
The 38 Tries Challenge: Elaine's next writing project is starting with a social experiment, inspired by the research on toddlers falling 38 times a day when learning to walk.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Elaine Chung and Authenticity
01:25 Elaine's Professional Background and Corporate Connection
03:45 Elaine's Leap into Entrepreneurship
09:32 The Spark for Writing 'The Illusion of Authenticity'
09:50 Exploring the Concept of Authenticity
18:11 Redefining Authenticity
18:55 Elaine’s Book Writing Process
20:10 Overcoming Book Writing Challenges
25:57 Happy Surprises of Becoming an Author
28:11 Introducing Elaine’s 38 Tries Project
33:11 Final Thoughts and Future Plans
About Elaine Chung:
Elaine Chung is a leadership strategist and author of The Illusion of Authenticity. She helps leaders build connected, high-performing teams by rethinking authenticity and reconnecting with what makes us most human.
Drawing from neuroscience, organizational behavior, and the science of play, she transforms how teams collaborate, lead, and grow—like kids do: curious, resilient, and wired to learn together, especially at the edge where discomfort meets the breakthroughs teams need most.
Connect with Elaine Chung:
Elaine’s website: https://www.beyondthechange.com
Elaine on LinkedIn:
How her book all started: Video: https://vimeo.com/1022971034
Apply to participate in the 38 tries challenge for leaders and adults (the topic of Elaine’s next book: beyondthechange.com/38-tries-challenge-application
Virtual book club for up to 6 peers: https://www.beyondthechange.com/book-club-cohorts.
