When Michael Cherny came out at Deloitte in 2019, he didn’t expect to become a trailblazer in the corporate world. Since then, in speaking engagements, articles, and on the internet, he’s told his story to more than a million people. While everyone’s experience is different, and there’s no right or wrong way to come out as trans at work, Cherny presents a three-phase framework for thinking through what can happen before, during, and after coming out. This framework draws on his own experience and interviews with other professionals.

The realisation that everyone is winging it is shocking at first, but once you’ve wrapped your head around the concept, it becomes deeply reassuring. Once you realise everyone is winging it, it will set you free’