Identity and Self

One of the most consequential questions a senior leader can ask isn't about strategy or performance - it's "Who am I when I'm not performing?" Yet for many accomplished professionals, identity has become so entangled with role, title and recognition that the question barely surfaces until something forces it: a restructure, a promotion, a departure, or simply the slow realisation that the job is running them rather than the reverse.

In my coaching practice, this theme comes up more than any other - often disguised as a problem about time, or energy, or decision-making, but really about who they are beneath the role.

These posts explore what happens when your job is who you are, how to build an identity that survives career upheaval, and why the most powerful leadership questions aren't about what you do next but about who you're becoming.

If you're navigating a question about who you are - not just what you do next - I'd like to help. I work with senior professionals untangling identity, values and purpose at pivotal moments in their careers.

Featured
Who am I becoming?
Who am I becoming?

Most of us rush straight to the “what”. Goals. Metrics. Projects. Plans. They matter, of course, but they are only half the picture. The more powerful questions at this time of year are about the “who”.

When your job is who you are
When your job is who you are

If your sense of worth lives in your title or others’ approval, you’re vulnerable. Here’s how to build an internal foundation you can carry anywhere.

If I’m not performing, who am I? Identity, values and leading without the mask
If I’m not performing, who am I? Identity, values and leading without the mask

Leadership at the top levels isn’t about trying harder. It’s about leading from values-based coherence, not performance. Here’s what I’ve seen that makes the difference.

If you’re not your work, who are you?
If you’re not your work, who are you?

Imagine two circles. One represents you, one represents your role at work. How much overlap is healthy? Here’s an exercise to help you answer that question.

Being a human among humans
Being a human among humans

When I turned 38, my dad said something funny. It got me thinking. Just like parents need to remind themselves that their kids are their own person, as fully alive, thoughtful and feeling as they were at the same age, many leaders know their staff are actually people, but on some level they relate to them as adjuncts, resources, less-than.

What happens when you love your fear?
What happens when you love your fear?

Humans tend to operate along two lines; fear and love, and often mutually exclusive. Fear as the thing that's holding us back, and love as the thing that enables us to connect and grow. This part of you that you think of as your fearful part actually has a positive intention for you. Read more…

If you're navigating a question about who you are - not just what you do next - I'd like to help. I work with senior professionals untangling identity, values and purpose at pivotal moments in their careers.

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