Welcome to The Subtle Shift, a weekly newsletter where I share subtle but powerful ideas to help you lead with clarity, inspire change, and create a lasting impact. This week, we’re discussing subtle shifts in leadership and identity. I hope that by the end, you’ll see how shaping identity, not just behavior, can transform the way you lead and the way others interact with you.
Leadership and Identity
If you’re a leader, you aren’t in the management business.
Stop focusing all of your attention on metrics, meetings, and minutiae and start paying attention to what really matters.
You’re in the people business, and your attention should be focused on them.
Sure, you’re expected to produce outcomes, but you achieve those outcomes by working with and through other people.
Which means your real job is mastering how you work with them, and what you bring out of them.
What do you focus on?
Most leaders focus on behavior.
They watch what people do.
They react to how people show up.
They provide feedback, hoping that it will lead to change.
However, great leaders recognize that behavior is merely surface-level. They know that something more powerful lies underneath it all.
They understand the vital role that identity plays.
James Clear put it best when he said:
“Your behaviors are usually a reflection of your identity.”
If someone sees themselves as a contributor, they contribute.
If they see themselves as a problem-solver, they solve problems.
If they perceive themselves as followers, they wait to be told what to do.
Leaders Can Shift Identity
Here’s the part most leaders miss:
You can shape that identity.
Every day.
In small ways.
Whether you mean to or not.
You shape identity by reflecting on who they are.
Through your words, your tone, and your trust, you tell them who you think they are, and nine times out of ten, they listen.
You can influence identity if you do it intentionally.
When you ask someone to lead, take ownership, or mentor, you’re not just delegating.
You’re declaring: “This is who I believe you can be.”
You celebrate the identity, not just the result.
Praise the resilience, not just the win.
Acknowledge the ownership, not just the outcome.
If you do this consistently, people grow into the identity you recognize.
So yes, keep an eye on behavior.
But don’t forget to look beneath it.
Because the fastest way to shift someone’s output is to help them see themselves differently.
That’s what real leadership looks like.
