Strategy shapes identity, which shapes strategy

Last week, I had the opportunity to discuss about personal strategy with around 30 peers at a local event. During the talks, one of the questions was:

How is personal brand connected to personal strategy?

I remember that my answer was something in the lines of:

”Personal brand is connected to personal identity, an external reflection of it. Your personal identity is shaped by your personal strategy. If our identity is not fixed and we continuously develop it based on our life experiences, then how you navigate through life shapes who you become.

At the same time, your identity shapes your personal strategy. Who you are is connected to what you notice around you in the Environment, what you have on the Radar, what Capabilities you have, what Strategic Options you can explore, the Strategy that you decide on, the Projects that you can start and your Day to Day habits.

When you apply this idea at a company level, you can see how business strategy shapes the culture and the identity of the organization and how the identity shapes the business strategy the company decides to pursue. That’s why you can’t build relevant business strategies while ignoring the organization and its identity. Or why you can’t look at organizational culture while ignoring the strategy of the business and its wider environment.

Coming back to personal strategy and personal brand, most probably your personal brand will evolve as you adjust your personal strategy. And this evolved personal brand will enable you to explore new opportunities and personal strategic options.”

Reflecting on this conversation about strategy and identity, I found some new ideas that I want to share with you:

• If there is indeed a linked evolution between personal strategy and identity, then paying attention to personal strategy might help each of us have a better chance to become what we want to become
• A question that I’m using to connect personal strategy to a possible evolution of my identity is:

Who would I become if I pursue this personal strategy?

When creating a personal strategy for my professional context for 2021, I’ve used a variation:

Who would I become If I prioritize those specific things for my working life?

• From the world of stories, we learn about the hero’s journey, where the hero goes on an adventure (uncertainty), goes through difficulties and overcomes them (progress) and return home transformed (identity). Navigating through uncertainty in a certain way evolves the hero’s identity.
• Building on how identity also shapes strategy, we can imagine how the transformed hero goes through new adventures, find new ways to overcome them and how a new transformation happens at the end of the new adventures.

Source: Wikipedia

• If each of us follows the “know thyself” advice, this might help navigate better through uncertainties. And implementing personal strategy, embarking on new projects and adjusting our day to day habits, might help us get to know ourselves better.

Your turn:

• Have you previously explored the connection between strategy and identity?
• How might this idea shape your way forward?

I’m looking forward to reading your comments 🔜

Enjoy your adventures,
Bülent

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