Meet Julia Markish, an experienced advisor, facilitator, and coach to people-first leaders. With over 20 years of experience in business and people strategy programs, Julia's mission is to empower leaders and teams to align and succeed using a human approach to business. Julia is a co-founder of Teal Team, a think tank inspired by Frederic Laloux's work Reinventing Organizations, and the founder of Embrace the Human, providing coaching and consulting services to leaders and teams who aim to achieve their goals with a human approach. She’s based in San Francisco, where she lives with her wife and their cat.
Recently, Julia set up a Candor profile and started sharing Takes. She appreciated Candor's human-centric approach and found potential in making it easier to connect with her Teal Team colleagues in a more holistic — but also regimented — way. To enhance collaboration, Julia created a dedicated Team Space on Candor. The Teal Team now uses Candor for Shoutouts — a weekly ritual where each person celebrates a team member who embodies one of their values — as well as check-ins, where each member is encouraged to share what’s on their mind each week.
Julia sees Candor as a platform that brings a human touch and expressiveness that other HR tools often lack. By creating an individual profile and sharing Takes, a person is invited to present a more holistic picture of themselves — one that blends personal and professional life. For Julia, this means authentically showcasing who she is to her team and to a wider community of organizations aligned with the Teal framework.
She reflects on the idea that the way we interact at work mirrors how we interact in life; our happiness and behavior at work are extensions of our true selves. Candor captures this essence, according to Julia, by demanding intentionality. Some Takes might be quick and light-hearted, while others might be more profound, calling for a deeper personal reflection. This conscious, selective sharing is key to fostering stronger, more human connections in the workplace.
This level of openness is all about building real relationships with teammates, potential clients, and organizations that share similar values. It's this genuine connection, fostered by the intentional sharing of our whole selves, that will make work more meaningful.
Julia, who is an advocate for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) in the context of her work, also sees another key strength of Candor in its inclusiveness. It enables people to share various aspects of their lives, promoting understanding and empathy in the context of diverse teams.
“One thing about human nature is that we will always gravitate towards people who are like us. And that creates so many problems for [people in minority groups, like] people of color, people in the LGBTQ+ community, etc., where it’s often so clear that you are not like some of your other teammates. But Candor profiles can actually break down some of those barriers because there are so many aspects that are hidden about ourselves that can be unhidden, and then you can find points of connection much more easily, and start to build the belonging that you're looking for.”
Julia Markish — Advisor and Coach to people-first leaders
Our interactions in virtual settings like Zoom calls or Slack channels are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to who we are. Humans are incredibly complex, and there's so much more to each of us than what we present in these limited frames.
Authentic sharing allows us to piece together the puzzle of each person's identity, fostering an understanding that everyone has unique circumstances and reasons for their actions, which we might not initially see or understand. This deeper insight is what can lead us to build more inclusive and authentic workplaces.
So, if you're looking to create a workplace where myriad facets of a person are acknowledged and valued, where meaningful connections pave the way for a more inclusive and fulfilling work environment, then take the step to create a team space on Candor. It's not just about working together; it's about growing and understanding each other on a deeper level.
Candor makes it easy to connect and have fun with your teammates, even while you’re remote. Use Candor to do feedback, shoutouts, check-ins, and more, all in one place.
