ALL THAT WE ARE
Uncovering the hidden truths behind our behaviour at work
Paperback out 2 February 2023
Published by Piatkus, Little, Brown Book Group
The quotes for the paperback are amazing. I’m delighted and so grateful to those who wrote them. There were so many we couldn’t fit them all in the book itself but look at these:
Thrilled by this review in the FT!
FT business books: February edition
And FT Summer Pick 2022
ALSO:
A GUARDIAN BOOKSHOP ONE TO WATCH IN for the month of February 2022 and book for mental health week
Interview in The Telegraph
Interview in Marie Claire magazine
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“A remarkable book ... it will move you and awaken a new respect for your colleagues and even your employer ... Braun moves effortlessly between memoir and professional insights and the result is - like all workplace dramas - gripping”
“Gabriella’s masterly use of stories draws us into workplace dilemmas that will resonate with many readers. Like a true master of her craft she uses curiosity, reflection and her deep understanding of psychoanalysis to unravel the complexities of human interactions. Illuminating, intriguing and hopeful. I hope it’s used widely to help organisations to become emotionally healthy workplaces”
“Such a compassionate and discerning book. Weaving in Gabriella Braun’s own intriguing journey and psychodynamic thinking, this rich work has the potential to make organisations and teams more thoughtful about why they struggle. It deserves a wide audience”
“All That We Are is without doubt one of the most important books about the workplace ever published. It lays bare the profound emotional context we all bring to work and how to resolve inner conflicts with colleagues and indeed ourselves”
“Essential reading for anyone that’s ever felt rattled by workplace dynamics and a powerful reminder that we can’t separate our emotional worlds from work”
“A fascinating book which digs into the truths behind our workplace behaviour”
“In All That We Are, Gabriella Braun weaves together a highly thoughtful, deeply sensitive and compelling account about the underlying motivations behind people’s behaviour at work. Through case studies and her own personal stories she brings to light the struggles, confusions and conflicts embedded in organisations, but throughout she brings her deep humanity, insight and kindness. Beautifully written, it tells us what it means to be human at work”
“These days, we’re told that we should bring our whole selves to work. But who and what are we really bringing? Far more than we realise: our unspoken ambitions, our unknown fears and the family conflicts we thought we’d left behind. With her vast experience, hard-won insights and illuminating case studies, Gabriella Braun tells us what’s really happening in that theatrical production we call work - and how we can give it a happier ending”
“All That We Are takes as its starting point the fact that we, as humans, are messy and imperfect – especially when working together. This is not a book of easy answers and happy endings. It is about the difficult conversations and how to have them. These vignettes make a persuasive case for the catalysing effect of self-understanding”
“So many books about organisational behaviour are dry or formulaic. Some are interesting, but they are rarely a joy to read. In All That We Are, Gabriella Braun digs deep to show us the unconscious patterns that shape our lives at work. The result is not just fascinating. It’s gripping”
“This powerful, sensitive and timely book reveals what really happens within and between people at work. The emotional life of individuals and teams is often underestimated, but Gabriella Braun’s insightful understanding demonstrates that we do indeed bring ‘all that we are’ to work. She shows that taking human nature seriously, including unconscious elements, makes all the difference to the health of our organisations and our lives at work. I wholeheartedly recommend this book”
“As too much of the writing in the mental health field is full of gobbledygook, it is very refreshing to read Gabriella Braun’s book about the human dynamics of the workplace. This easily assessable book provides much insight about the behavior of leaders and teams. And what’s more, captured by her stories, we are gently taken on a journey that will help us better understand our own inner theatre, thus making us more effective in our day-to-day life”
“This is a timely and important book. Gabriella Braun has a wealth of experience using psychoanalytic and systemic thinking to consult to a broad range of organisations. Drawing on this experience she has written an informative and accessible book that is a pleasure to read. No prior knowledge is assumed and she distils complex ideas into everyday language that the reader can apply to their work environment, deepening their understanding of what is going on below the surface in terms of relationships and group processes. I warmly welcome this book and highly recommend it”
“Excellent ... for anyone committed to understanding and changing organisations this is a must read. This is a book I wish I had written”
“All That We Are is a fascinating examination of the unconscious human processes that operate in team working environments. Through a series of unflinching yet compassionate case studies, as well as reflections on her own experiences of analysis, Gabriella illustrates a wealth of knowledge and expertise, illuminating just how powerful the application of psychoanalytic techniques can be in our professional as well as personal lives. A stunning book and a must-read for anyone interested in psychology, our working lives, or simply what it means to be human”
“This book is a delight. Refreshing and inspiring, healing even. I love the portrayal of systems psychodynamic ideas put to work, with little jargon and a lot of humanity. There is a great balance between depth and immediacy. Unlike many books in our field, Gabriella’s shows the work rather than talks about it. I recommend this book to all those working with or in organisations”
“An important book for all managers and leaders who care about their people and organisations. Braun elegantly illustrates in compelling case narratives the systemic, relational and hidden dynamics in workplaces that we all can pay attention to”
“The importance of this book cannot be underestimated. Whilst Gabriella writes with great insight and compassion about our mental health at work, the implications of her research go far deeper and wider. It is time for us all to pay close attention to our inner worlds and respect those of others. Hopefully education and healthcare may also benefit from the wisdom in this book for a more human and caring society”
“This insightful book engages the reader from beginning to end with its profound insights, offering valuable lessons on how to survive and even thrive authentically in the workplace”
“All That We Are is full of empathy and understanding, showing us that we cannot leave who we are behind when it comes to our working life. A sensitive and timely exploration into what is needed in order to create a more compassionate, positive and healthy workplace”
“All That We Are is a fascinating and insightful book that delves deep into how we can improve our time at work: as bosses, managers and colleagues. But more than this, it shows us how we can create a more compassionate and kind society at large. A must read! ”
Extracts
From The Introduction: Starting with Us
“Remove the desks and chairs, the computers and cup-boards, the factory floor or operating theatre and you have people. Just people. And everything we, as people, bring to our workplaces. Our hopes, our fears, our histories and personalities. Our thoughts and feelings, attitudes and beliefs, our understandable and unfathomable behaviours. We bring all that we are.
Work does far more than occupy our time and provide our livelihood. It provides an outlet for our intelligence and skills. It’s part of our identity, a source of belonging and exclusion, of pleasure and pain. The dynamics of different relationships in the workplace, giving rise to issues of power, status, equality, camaraderie and competition, touch every one of us and every part of us. Much as we may want to, we cannot leave aspects of ourselves outside the building or virtual space when we go to work.
...
Part One of the book, Human Nature at Work, examines the fundamentals of our minds and their effect in the workplace. The following sections explore our essential con- tradiction. Part Two, Losing Ourselves, delves into the mire of our destructiveness and its ability to undo us in and out of work. Part Three, Finding Ourselves, highlights the inspiration and potential of our constructive side.
I hope in illuminating all that we are, and the significance of understanding ourselves and each other, this book will contribute towards workplaces becoming more creative, inclusive and humane communities in which people and their work flourish.”
From Chapter 3: Life and Death
“Appelby House stood at the end of a long gravel driveway with sweeping lawns on either side. I imagined Jane Austen’s Emma looking down from a perfectly proportioned window or strolling out of the dusky blue door and plucking a white rose rambling up the side of the entrance porch.
Pauline, consultant psychiatrist and director, met me by the front door of the private residential service for children with eating disorders. Her face pale without makeup, her hair pulled back roughly, she told me a girl had jumped from her bedroom window while home for the weekend.
‘She’s OK, but apparently if she’d landed two centimetres to the left, a jagged iron bar would have killed her.’ Pauline’s voice shook. My breath caught as I tried to take this in.
We walked up the wide, curving staircase to a meeting room. ‘She’s thirteen,’ Pauline continued, as she steadied herself against the banister. ‘She was doing so well. Or so I thought. Making friends here, even starting to think about a family holiday in the summer. I really thought she’d be ready for that.’
Staff drifted in talking quietly among themselves…
Their voices expressed concern as they talked about the staff closest to the girl. But when the therapists questioned the nurses about the events leading up to the incident, the atmosphere changed.
‘You don’t know what it’s like working such long hours with the patients,’ Neil, a senior nurse said, his foot tap- ping the floor. ‘It’s different for you therapists. You just see them for an hour. You don’t have to get them to eat, clean the wounds when they deliberately cut themselves, reassure desperate parents. It’s not you who has to restrain a child to get a glucose shot into them to keep them alive.’
‘Here we go,’ Helen sighed. ‘There’s nothing that upsets me more than this notion that you nurses do all the work and the rest of us don’t pull our weight.’
‘That’s not what I’m saying,’ Neil looked exasperated. His foot tapped faster.
‘You don’t appreciate our work,’ Helen retorted. ‘We have back-to-back appointments. We work long hours with the patients too, with their self-harm and suicidality. We also deal with highly anxious parents and manage risk.’
‘I give up,’ Neil groaned, looking up at the ceiling.
‘Let’s not do this,’ Pauline said.
A dull pain throbbed above my left eyebrow. Why hadn’t I seen this before? The repeated refrain that one discipline took the load and the others didn’t appreciate them, sprung from their anxiety about death.”