All Things Change When We Do
A lesson in identity, structure, and the true source of breakthrough performance
I’ve spent the last few years studying leadership, and I completely missed what identity actually means. Then I read this quote from Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams:
“All things change when we do.”
The Breakthrough
A few years ago, I learned what was holding me back wasn’t something external. It was me. My current identity.
During my leadership certification studies at Brown University, I discovered the book Mastering Leadership: An Integrated Framework for Breakthrough Performance and Extraordinary Business Results. That single line was a game-changer. It was the key that unlocked the growth path.
For years before that, I thought changing my situation meant finding the right strategy, the perfect tool, or the magical framework that would unlock everything. I was searching externally for silver bullets.
Sound familiar?
The Real Work
Here’s what actually creates change: internal transformation.
It’s not about manipulating circumstances. It’s not about working harder with the same operating system. It’s about evolving into someone capable of creating the outcomes you want. A fundamentally different version of your identity.
Anderson and Adams put it perfectly:
“Leadership is the deployment of self into circumstances.”
Think about that for a moment. Leadership isn’t a set of techniques or a playbook. It’s how we show up. It’s what we bring to every situation.
Identity as Structure
Here’s the insight that changed everything for me: Identity is structure. And structure determines performance.
If you want breakthrough performance, you must change the structure. Not the surface-level stuff. The deep architecture of who you are and how you operate.
The structure of our identity determines:
How we show up as leaders
How we deploy ourselves into every situation
What we see as possible
What actions we take (or avoid)
How we interpret challenges and setbacks
As our identity transforms, so does our leadership. And our results.
This is why two people can have the same strategy, the same resources, and get completely different outcomes. The difference isn’t in what they do. It’s in who they are.
The Practice
So how do we actually do this work?
Start with this question: What type of person is capable of achieving the outcomes I want?
Not what strategies. Not what tools. What type of person.
Then ask:
What would they do today?
How would they think?
How would they show up?
What would they prioritize?
What would they let go of?
Then take one small step to embody that identity. Tomorrow, take another.
This isn’t about fake-it-till-you-make-it. It’s about intentional evolution. Small, consistent actions that reshape the structure of who we are.
The circumstances will change because you’re changing.
The Truth We All Need to Hear
I spent decades in tech leadership thinking that the next promotion, the next big project, the next company would be the thing that changed everything.
But the real breakthrough came when I stopped looking outward and started looking inward. When I stopped trying to change my circumstances and started changing myself.
All things change when we do.
Not when we find the perfect strategy. Not when conditions align. Not when we get lucky.
When we do the internal work to become someone capable of creating what we want.
This is the work that matters.
What Are You Building?
Here’s what most people miss: Every day, we are building the foundation of our identity.
Every choice. Every action. Every moment we show up or don’t.
Whether you’re conscious of it or not, you’re constructing who you’re becoming. The question isn’t whether you’re building. You are.
The question is: What are you building?
Are you building the identity of someone who waits for perfect conditions? Or someone who creates them?
Are you building the identity of someone who talks about change? Or someone who embodies it?
Are you building the identity of someone who knows their limits? Or someone who discovers what’s possible?
The foundation you’re laying today determines the performance you’ll have tomorrow.
Choose wisely.
What’s one small step you could take today to embody your next-level identity? Hit reply and let me know. I read every response.
If this resonated with you, share it with another leader who needs to hear this message.