In leadership, identity confusion is one of the most common—and costly—mistakes. When we blur who we are with what we do, performance suffers, emotional clarity vanishes, and we make decisions from ego instead of alignment.
In this episode of the Revolving Change Podcast, Jorge Loebl and Joanna Edera take on the essential topic of identity vs. role—how to separate them, switch between them, and why your effectiveness as a leader depends on managing them well.
Whether you’re a manager, entrepreneur, or emerging leader, this conversation will challenge how you think about yourself, your title, and your capacity to perform without over-identifying with any single role.
Key Insight: You only have one identity—but you’re constantly switching roles. Knowing which “hat” you’re wearing, and when to take it off, is what separates reactionary managers from strategic leaders.
This episode explores:
- The difference between who you are and what role you’re playing—and why that clarity matters
- How identity-role blending leads to emotional burnout, miscommunication, and stalled leadership growth
- Practical tools to switch between roles consciously, including the use of rituals, uniforms, and expectations
- Why alignment on identity across teams improves empathy, delegation, and trust
Watch the Full Podcast Episode
From boardrooms to hospital operating rooms, Jorge and Joanna explore real-life role-switching scenarios—highlighting how the best leaders design role transitions, rather than defaulting into them under pressure.
Prefer to Listen On-the-Go?
Whether you’re juggling leadership, family, or client work, this episode offers grounding insight and tools to help you manage your energy, focus, and identity across every role you carry.
Final Thought: Confusing Identity with Role Is a Fast Path to Burnout
When your title becomes your identity, every mistake feels personal. Every shift feels like a threat. Every challenge becomes ego-driven.
That’s not leadership. That’s survival.
Learning to clearly define your roles—and build the self-awareness to switch between them—is one of the most practical emotional intelligence skills a leader can develop.
And it starts with clarity.
Lead with Identity. Operate Through Role.
If you want to be more present, more effective, and more resilient—you must learn to manage identity and role separately.
We can help you do that.
- Visit our Memberships page for coaching that trains you to lead from your core identity while managing multiple roles with clarity and structure.
- Or explore our Resources page for tools to help you list, organize, and align the roles you carry—with the identity you want to lead from.
Your identity is who you are. Your role is what you do. Don’t let the latter hijack the former.