Who are you, really?

The comments section spoke volumes…

Yogi Gnanavel, GTM Leader wrote:

And Samantha Ushedo, Founder added:

These weren't just comments; they were mirrors. Each person adding comments that named a different facet of how it feels when the wrapper of our identity starts to slip.

When the job is under threat, or changing, or depleting us, or gone, who are we, really?

Tanya Hopper, Founder put it plainly:

Author Tariq Munir perfectly captured the challenge, and our collective opportunity:

One after another, people describing what happens to our sense of identity when our work identities become unstable at scale.

The silence.
The ambiguity.
The squeeze of the wrapper that no longer fits.

…And the possibility of something richer.

Why this conversation matters right now

The structural shifts we’re all bracing for - AI, automation, the green transition, efficiency mandates - are expected to transform 22% of today's jobs by 2030.

Not the distant future. Five years from now.

When our wrappers (roles, titles, career ladders) are that unstable, clinging to them blindly is increasingly dangerous.

To put it plainly, we’re not going to outrun instability by doubling down on today’s credentials.

The leverage point, as Yogi said, is shifting from title to signal.
From "I am my job" to "I am someone who…"

Full disclosure, I’m historically bad at this

For years, my husband told me I was more than my job. I never stopped long enough to really consider what that meant.

Title. Role. Company. That wrapper was my identity.

When I left my job, the near-immediate undercurrent of panic was quiet but persistent. I discovered what Samantha named: the silence after letting go can be terrifying.

Without the background noise of meetings, deliverables, performance reviews…who was I, really?

Muscle memory pushes us to find the next wrapper immediately. The urge to fit neatly back into something - anything - familiar.

But as Katerina Budinova, MBA, Product Director commented:

That transition… from wrapped to rooted… it’s the real work.
And with the future of work happening now, it’s not optional.

Joel Lim, SEO Lead put it perfectly:

It’s time we all know the answer to the question: Without my job title, who am I, really?

Quick favor: Forward this to someone who deserves to remember they’re more than their job. The leap from “I am my job” to “I am someone who…” shouldn’t require a crisis. Sometimes it can take just one. small. click.

MVP ‘Who Am I, Really?’

Estimated time: 5 - 15 minutes | Estimated energy: minimal

This week, if you’re not sure where to start, why not start here?

If everything external were to fall away. The title, the role, the company….if everything external shifted…what stays true about you?

I’ll go first:

I Value: Living curiously. I am a curious soul dedicated to lifelong learning.
My Core Skill: I translate complexity into clarity better than most.
My Lasting Impact: I help people achieve their personal definition of success.
My Epic Joy: Everything is right when I’m in a forest hiking with my family, friends, and dogs.

These were true when I was a kid, an analyst, an SVP, and an entrepreneur.
These are true of the way I work. And the way I parent, love, and live.
They'll be true in whatever comes next.

My wrapper changed. But my identity?
That was there, buried deeply under the wrapper, all along.

The jobs aren’t actually our identities. They’re the wrappers that mask them.

Uncertainty and the future of work are forcing more (and more) of us to consider who the hell we are, if not our jobs? 

Those of us who figure out how to answer that question - who embrace identities rooted in values instead of wrapped in titles - won't just survive what comes next...as Tariq Munir rightly said, they'll thrive beyond any role.

They’ll be the embodiment of “you are more than your job”.

And that’s the recipe for a richer life.