Shapeshifting not Code-Switching

Photo by Joshua Newton on Unsplash

When you’re part of the minority at work, it can feel that you have to continually code-switch to get ahead. Code-switching may be a necessity to adapt to the majority way of working in order to be recognized and rewarded. The term originally comes from a linguistics perspective of having to shift from one language to another depending on the contextual setting. At work, code-switching is defined as changing our behaviors to conform to a normative standard that is different from how we would comfortably act at home.

Code-switching “has long been a strategy for black people to successfully navigate interracial interactions and has large implications for their well-being, economic advancement, and even physical survival” according to the Harvard Business Review article The Costs of Code-Switching.

The term has commonly had a negative connotation because often in the corporate context, 

“The code switcher is obligated to transform in order to be considered worthy.” 
— Samantha Soma

Yet, code-switching is an unavoidable part of life. It’s needed to navigate through a complex, multi-faceted world. 

Minorities at work can reclaim our power by taking control of code-shifting and working with it on our own terms. I personally reframe it as shapeshifting — a choice to try on different behaviors with a playful and experimental mindset.

I’m a third culture kid, brought up multi-lingual and multi-cultural from the experience of moving to a new country every 3–4 years for my father’s work. I’m used to adapting to the social structures of new schools along with the cultural norms of a new country. Similarly, as a first-generation Thai-Chinese immigrant to California, I needed to observe the standard behaviors around me, and adjust to fit in to the community. At work, as an Asian woman, I spent many years adopting a traditional command-and-control style of leadership that is often practiced by older white men. As a designer, trying to get my voice heard and advocate for the end user, I would try every tactic possible to claw my way to a seat at the table.

I’ve long been familiar with code-switching and have practiced it for much of my life. This year, in 2023, my intention for the year is to be a shapeshifter and stop apologizing or feeling bad about my context switching. These are three steps to consider when moving to shapeshifting not code-switching in the professional world.

1. Understand what success means to you

Professional success at work often is about being promoted, getting a bigger title and receiving more compensation as recognition for your work. We naturally compare how we’re doing against our peers, wondering how that startup raised their Series A funding in this economic downturn, or how that colleague rose up the ranks so quickly. Yet everyone’s desires, context, and level of capacity to devote to their career is different. That’s even before we start considering the luck factors of the economic climate or the privilege factors of who you know. 

Seek to understand what your version of success is. For example, if you are looking for a promotion, ask yourself why. It could be for your family’s economic security, for the recognition of your hard work, or simply for the prestige of making your dad proud. Consider adding some success factors that are entirely in your control such as skills you want to learn, knowledge you’d like to gain, or relationships you’d like to build in the course of this job.

2. Know your values and boundaries

Before you get into a code-switching situation, consider what you truly value in your leadership and identify the boundaries that you will hold strong. For example:

  • A Pakistani-American leader who fasts for Ramadan and won’t come into work in the office during that period because of the physical strains of commuting

  • A mom who leaves work at 3pm to coach her daughter’s soccer team

  • A black woman who is no longer willing to straighten her hair and wears it natural as her authentic identity

  • An ally who vows to always speak up when they hear comments in the workplace that make others uncomfortable

Also understand your gray areas, the places where you might be willing to play and experiment with. Clearly list these out to practice self-witnessing when these situations occur. 

3. Run time-bound experiments to understand the cost of that success

Here’s the fun part! Rather than unconsciously code-switching to fit in, intentionally design experiments in shapeshifting. First, identify what different behaviors you’d like to try on and have a hypothesis for how this might contribute to your success. Next, start practicing these behaviors for a set amount of time, and at the end of the period, assess how it went. 

In my research, I recently interviewed an Asian-American woman who self-identifies as a quiet leader. She wanted to practice behaviors to have her voice heard more. She approached a white man to be her mentor because, “it’s mind-blowing how differently they think.” Through the course of the months-long mentorship, she experimented with different behaviors including:

  • trying to speak up multiple times in a meeting, to make a point, to summarize the conversation or to ask a question

  • asking for 1–1 conversations to build closer relationships with individuals whose communication styles intimidated her

  • practicing interrupting others in a conversation to get her point across

  • volunteering to present at a brown-bag

Each behavior wasn’t natural to her leadership style at all, and sometimes went against her cultural upbringing, yet in the course of the mentorship she was committed to trying on leading in a different way. At the end of the mentorship she evaluated how she felt with each action, and learned that “I never want to lead like him,” yet she also found her own way to lead without “cheating who I am.”

In the course of the experiments, ask yourself these questions:

  1. What did you learn?

  2. How did it make you feel? What was the impact of trying on this behavior?

  3. Did it achieve the outcome you wanted?

My Shapeshifting Experiments

I run my own business as an executive coach, writer, teacher, and speaker and one large theme for the coming year is integration of all aspects of my identity into my professional life. For me, this involves shapeshifting to truly be vulnerable and open enough to share parts of my identity that are considered outside of the norm. 

These experiments include:

  1. Using my passion for surfing and my connection to the ocean both as energy sources for my creative work as well as metaphors to illustrate leadership concepts

  2. Sharing stories of interactions and learnings from my children as leadership lessons (while holding a strict boundary of not sharing their pictures or names)

  3. Openly talking about my Asian heritage and racism that I’ve both experienced and perpetuated. Raising awareness and being that person who asks uncomfortable questions in larger conversations and within team coaching engagements

  4. Talking about the role of intuition, energy management, creativity, and spirituality in my self-leadership. These are all aspects of a nonlinear, unseen, and divergent way of thinking. Pulling these from my personal life and integrating them into the business world. Even starting with shapeshifter as my intention for the year.

Note that experiments #1 and #2 are commonly accepted as “safe” topics of discussion. Both sports and family are considered acceptable topics in the professional world.

Many of us identify as the “other” at work and feel like we need to code-switch to fit in. Instead, try experimenting with a reframe to shapeshifting. Try it and see how it works for you.

Tutti Taygerly