Identity Shifting

Crafting the Leader Persona

When Merlin the magician carved his staff out of wood, he was shaping an instrument of power. For managers, the act of personality development is the same. Once you awaken to the fact that personality is malleable, the next step is to craft it with intention. Leadership is not only what you do, but how you show up.

Personality As A Built Up Identity

Research on identity construction in organisations highlights that leaders continuously negotiate who they are through interaction, symbols, and rituals (Ibarra, 1999). This means a manager’s persona is less about authenticity as a fixed essence and more about the ongoing crafting of professional presence.

Leaders collect behaviours, narratives and rituals to align their leadership identity with organisational purpose. This process is not artificial. Rather, it is strategic embodiment that shapes the tone, presence, and credibility. Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank fame said he could realise who is a winner and who is not simply by the way they carry their body. The process of identity shifting is moving into that space.

What Is Identity Shifting?

Identity shifting is the conscious act of stepping into a different version of oneself to meet the demands of a situation. It is not inauthentic performance, but rather the art of expanding one’s repertoire. Just as Merlin put on different robes or carried different symbols depending on the ritual, managers too must learn to shift identities. In board meetings leaders become strategist, with employees they become coaches and with clients negotiators without losing their core integrity.

Identity is a living process that shapes behaviour and perception. In Gestalt Therapy we were taught that a healthy identity is spontaneous personality adjusting to the environment. Problems arise when personality is fixed, rigid or has a disorder. For managers, the ability to shift identity is critical because leadership is situational: the persona that motivates during a crisis may alienate during a period of stability (Lord et al., 2020).

How To Do It Authentically

A manager known for being impulsive in meetings adopts the identity statement: “I am the calm anchor.” Before each meeting, he rehearses this statement in a posture and breathing that embodies calm. Over time, colleagues begin to experience him as steadying rather than volatile. The way he did it was:

1. Identify Core Values: shifting identity does not mean abandoning authenticity. First you need to identify your core non-negotiable personal values (e.g., integrity, fairness, courage). Through embodiment and committing to keeping them, these will become part of you.

2. Create Reminders: post it notes, rituals, practices or statements help trigger shifts from old patterns to new. For instance before a meeting take 2 minutes to remind yourself of your values, breathe them in and posture your body as if you have them already.

3. Rehearse New Self: during therapy or coaching, when a manager wants to explore a new way of being, we support them to enact that character. This can be then taken in life by rehearsing before a meeting, speech or action. In time this helps to shift identities in real time (Ashforth & Schinoff, 2016).

4. Reflect and Integrate: After shifting, reflection helps decide what to keep. Some identities will remain provisional, others will become permanent layers of the leadership persona.

Identity shifting is less about being many people and more about becoming a whole person. The idea is that all identities (good and bad) are available in all people but we choose which ones to keep and avoid. By consciously shifting identity, you start integrating multiple facets of self so that leadership feels fluid and intentional.

The Process of Shaping a Leadership Persona

Leaders who consciously craft their persona do more than improve themselves create coherence across the organisation. Research shows that leader identity strongly influences team identification, motivation, and collective performance (van Knippenberg et al., 2004). Inconsistent or unconscious personas breed confusion. Intentionally crafted personas, however, inspire confidence and align teams around a common tone.

Like Merlin’s staff, the crafted leadership persona becomes an instrument of power, not because it dominates, but because it channels intention into form. Crafting a leadership identity is not about masking who you are but about amplifying the qualities that serve the team and tempering those that derail coherence. Managers can use a number of tools to achieve this:

1. I Am Statements: crafting clear “I am” declarations anchors behavior e.g. “I am a calm presence in uncertainty” or “I am a leader who makes others feel seen.” Such statements create alignment between intention and action (Gollwitzer, 1999).

2. Creative Adjustment: effective leaders adapt their persona to context without losing their core. Research on behavioural complexity shows leaders who can flex between roles (coach, strategist, disciplinarian, visionary) are more effective (Denison et al., 1995).

3. Role Modelling: leadership persona is reinforced by showing up as the identity needed. When a manager demonstrates respect, punctuality, or emotional regulation, the team mirrors that behaviour (Bandura, 1977).

When Merlin raised his staff, it was not the wood that was powerful, but the intention carved into it. Similarly, when a manager steps into a room, it is not only their skills that speak, but the persona they have crafted. Leadership is not about pretending to be someone else. It is about shaping who you are into the clearest signal of the leader you intend to be.

References

• Ashforth, B. E., & Schinoff, B. S. (2016). Identity under construction: How individuals come to define themselves in organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3(1), 111–137. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-041015-062322Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall.

• Denison, D. R., Hooijberg, R., & Quinn, R. E. (1995). Paradox and performance: Toward a theory of behavioral complexity in managerial leadership. Organization Science, 6(5), 524–540. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.6.5.524

• Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493–503. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493

• Ibarra, H. (1999). Provisional selves: Experimenting with image and identity in professional adaptation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(4), 764–791. https://doi.org/10.2307/2667055

• Lord, R. G., Day, D. V., Zaccaro, S. J., Avolio, B. J., & Eagly, A. H. (2020). Leadership in applied psychology: Three waves of theory and research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(12), 1359–1381. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000476

• van Knippenberg, D., van Knippenberg, B., De Cremer, D., & Hogg, M. A. (2004). Leadership, self, and identity: A review and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 15(6), 825–856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2004.09.002