Your Work Identity Part II
Last week I wrote about bringing awareness to your current work identity. Now we will look at how to be intentional about your identity going forward.
Maybe your current work identity resonates with you and you want to keep it. Perfect. You can hold on to it, know what it is, and know that it is yours.
However, for many of us, the thing about our current work identity is that we didn’t spend a lot of time creating it or choosing it. We weren’t intentional about it being our identity, it just became our identity.
Now you get a say. Now you get to decide what you want your identity to be.
Think About the Future
Start to think about what you want your identity to be. Close your eyes and imagine your future three years from now. Some things to consider as you day dream:
What are the best parts about your job?
How do you feel at work?
If you were an outsider looking in, what types of things would you say about yourself?
What kind of work are you doing?
What kind of job do you have?
What Do You See?
Maybe you see a brand new career that you’ve always wanted. Maybe it’s your same job, but you have more confidence, ease, and joy with it. Maybe it’s a promotion.
If you don’t see a specific job, there may be a feeling or way of being that you are drawn to. You can build an identity from there as well.
Jot down a few words or feelings associated with whatever is coming up for you in this future vision.
Take some time to sit on it and see if you can form it into a single sentence. Know that this can change over time. We are just beginning with a starting point to see how it feels. You can change it as you go.
Some examples
I am confident
I’m a strong and empathetic leader
I am a writer
I produce high quality work
Your label doesn’t have to be 100% who you are today. The idea is that it’s an identity that you get to live into and create.
For example, someone can label themselves a ‘writer’ even if they are just getting started in writing. They don’t have to have all of the results to ‘prove’ that they are that identity yet. The idea is that we are creating what we want and where we want to go.
Becoming Comfortable With Your Identity
Consider posting your identity in prominent places so that you can look at it regularly and be reminded of it. For example, you could put it on a Post-it near your computer or create a a calendar reminder that you see every morning. You also could say it out loud each day.
Small Actions
Now I’m taking a page from James Clear’s Atomic Habits, which I have found extremely useful for helping me take small actions every day that add up over time. I like to use his framework when thinking about our work identities. Look at your identity and think of one to two small actions you can do each day or each week that align with the identity that you created. What is something small and easy that you can start with?
Brainstorm this and come up with ideas until something seems doable, inspiring, and fun.
Here are some examples of an identity and a few small actions that align with that identity.
I am confident
Every day: I speak up in at least one meeting.
Each week: I share at least one idea with others.
I am a writer
Every day: I write first thing in the morning for 20 minutes.
Once a week: I publish a blog post or an article.
I am a strong and empathetic leader
Every day: I ask my direct reports at least two questions to better understand what they are going through.
Each week: I take 10 minutes to reflect on what I did well and an area for improvement.
Have fun with this and make the actions easy things that you can weave into your day. Start small and see what difference they make. Also be sure to incorporate them easily into your routine. Add calendar reminders or another mechanism that can help you remember to do them.
Take time every so often to reflect on the impact that these small actions have. Most importantly, enjoy creating and living into your new work identity.