Choosing Our Identities and Stories: April 2025 Tips (Productive Flourishing Pulse #495)
Is your "where you are" serving where you want to go?
All last month we explored the concept of drift — both personal and organizational — because although we might start feeling it in February, we really recognize it for what it is in March.
If we’ve done our work identifying and articulating whatever drift we or our teams are experiencing, April (and the start of the second quarter, and springtime) probably feels like a time of transition, transformation, regrouping, refining, redefining. Change.
At the heart of this feeling and this work, and where we’ll be spending the month of April, is the concept of identity and the stories that often comprise it.
Having identified both the drift we’ve experienced and the direction we want to go (the why and the what), we’re now in an ideal place to address the next questions: how and who.
For individuals, consider:
Do the stories I tell myself about who I am support where I want to go? If not, what new stories and identities can I adopt that will?
Is the work I’m trying to accomplish something I can do on my own, or do I need to leverage my success pack to get there?
For teams, you might ask:
Do we have a compelling vision and clearly articulated story of where we’re going and why? Does it align with who we are as a team or company? What changes do we need to make so that those are true?
Now that we understand the direction we’re heading, do we have the right people, abilities, and readiness level on the team to make that happen? If not, where are the gaps, and how will we close them?
Stay tuned the rest of April for more on intentionally shaping your or your team’s identity to return to your original path or embrace a new direction.
~Steve
Identifying Our Stories and Self-Concepts
As you begin your explorations of identity and the stories that make them, here are some resources to guide your thinking and questioning:
Take a Moment
A prompt to pause and reflect.
What about your current stories is serving you (or your team)? What about them is holding you back?
We’d love to hear what’s coming up for you.
Unsure Where to Begin? Quiz Yourself
An easy starting place to begin thinking about individual or team identities is one (or both) of our free quizzes.
For individuals, the Momentum Quiz is a great place to identify your strengths and challenges around planning and taking action on your projects.
For teams, the Team Habits Quiz can help identify the habits your team is great at and those it needs to work on, to become ready to take on new objectives or improve their execution on existing ones.
In Case You Missed It
Recent articles:
Also: Charlie recently appeared on The Best Business Minds podcast with Marc Kramer:
Join Us in April
This month is all about identities, the stories that support or detract from who we want to be or want our teams to be, and how we might transition into new identities, modes, and approaches that better serve us.
Leadership Strategy Session (LSS): Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at 11:00 am PDT
Leadership Identity Transitions: As teams evolve, effective leadership requires shifting between different modes of operation. Whether moving between hands-on management and strategic direction, or adapting to changing team needs, your leadership identity must remain fluid yet purposeful. We'll explore how identity transitions affect your team dynamics and decision-making, with particular attention to the distinctions between Manager Mode and Executive Mode that many leaders navigate.Monthly Momentum Call (MMC): Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at 11:00 am PDT
Clearing Space for What Matters Most: After recognizing drift in your creative projects or personal goals, the next step often involves both letting go and becoming. What parts of your current approach or self-concept might be creating unnecessary resistance? We'll discuss practical approaches to releasing what no longer serves your important work and embracing the identity that aligns with where you want to go.
Want to revisit March’s conversations on drift? Catch the replays here:
April Momentum Planners
The Momentum Planners were built to keep your most important work front and center. Download the free version of our April planners to help you determine what actions and ideas are serving you, and which need a retool.
Paid subscribers can access the full suite of dated planners below. 👇 If you don't see them, please make sure you’re logged in to your paid account.