Construct Your Identity
"That's just not me." Says who?
One of the most important skill sets any of us can master is that of reinvention.Chapter 6, The Big Bold Mindset
Least likely to present on stage.
These days much of my working life is spent on stages, speaking to senior leaders at world-leading companies. At school I'd have been voted the person least likely to do that.
Years ago as an entrepreneur, I knew I wasn't the leader I wanted to be. So I wrote a script: my routines, how I'd make decisions, how I'd handle difficult moments, how I'd guide my team.
Every time I've reinvented myself since, I've written a new script. Who chose the current story of who you are? Did it happen by accident, or did you choose it?
Which self shows up?
What's the current story you carry about who you are?
Who shows up with your family, your team, your board, your friends?
Are you happy with the self that shows up in each place?
Your identity can flex. It needs to.
Psychologists call it identity flexibility: adapting how we see ourselves to different situations. People with more flexible identities tend to cope better with change.
Why reinvention is a core skill
"Which self shall I be today?"
In the film Darkest Hour, Churchill asks it standing at his hat rack before meeting the King.
"I'm an accountant"
What happens to that identity when a machine does the work better?
Charts go out of date
Refuse to redraw who you are and you risk running aground.
Tom Bilyeu: an identity for all seasons
If you value yourself for being a learner, then whatever happens, you can learn your way through it. Unless the challenge breaks the laws of physics, someone has probably solved it before. If they have, so can you.
Caspar can't think of a better identity to hold. It opens the door to growth and to reinvention.
I carefully, deliberately and consciously constructed him.Dan Kennedy, on the persona he built for his career
Three ways to flex
Most of us start the week with a to-do list. Hardly anyone starts with a WHO list.
The WHO list
For each big moment in your diary, ask which self needs to show up: the listener, the negotiator, the seller of the vision.
Script it out
Write how you want to show up as a leader: routines, decisions, difficult moments. Rewrite it when you reinvent.
Theatre of the mind
For a few minutes, eyes closed, watch yourself play the script in a film. Notice the details and how it feels.
Write your first WHO list
On Monday, write a WHO list next to your to-do list. For each big moment this week, note which self needs to show up. On Friday, look at what changed.
Who does the team need to be?
Teams have identities too, and they can get stuck. Ask who you need to become for what's next.
Want Caspar to take your team through this? casparcraven.com