Identity Work
Organizational identities are the way we balance our personal self and our work self. Organizations would like us to conform to their culture and ideals but not everyone can completely commit themselves to being what would be considered ideal by their organization. Because of this we build a balance between what work wants us to be and who we are. There are seven sense making devices to explain each type of reaction someone has to an organization trying to influence their identify. These seven sense making strategies are: self-doubters, strugglers, surfers, storytellers, strategists, stencils, and soldiers. Below I will go into more detail about each. Feel free to take the identity work quiz to find out what type of sense making strategist you might be.
Organizational identities are the way we balance our personal self and our work self. Organizations would like us to conform to their culture and ideals but not everyone can completely commit themselves to being what would be considered ideal by their organization. Because of this we build a balance between what work wants us to be and who we are. There are seven sense making devices to explain each type of reaction someone has to an organization trying to influence their identify. These seven sense making strategies are: self-doubters, strugglers, surfers, storytellers, strategists, stencils, and soldiers. Below I will go into more detail about each. Feel free to take the identity work quiz to find out what type of sense making strategist you might be.
Self-doubter
The self-doubter lives in insecurity. They are constantly continuing to try and conform to impossible standards set by their organization. These impossible standards could include but not be limited to large workloads, ideal personality adjustments, emotional responses or reactions, even physical standards. Because self-doubters cannot conform to impossible standards they create a continuous feeling of insecurity and uncertainty based around how they unable to conform to their organization’s standards for them. Super Models and CEOs are good examples of a self-doubter. Such as Tyra Banks who has talked throughout her career about the struggle of maintaining industry standards.
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The self-doubter lives in insecurity. They are constantly continuing to try and conform to impossible standards set by their organization. These impossible standards could include but not be limited to large workloads, ideal personality adjustments, emotional responses or reactions, even physical standards. Because self-doubters cannot conform to impossible standards they create a continuous feeling of insecurity and uncertainty based around how they unable to conform to their organization’s standards for them. Super Models and CEOs are good examples of a self-doubter. Such as Tyra Banks who has talked throughout her career about the struggle of maintaining industry standards.
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Struggler
The struggler has a hard time coming to terms with a balance between who they are and their organizational identity. They refuse to be completely defined by the identity their organization has assigned them but often finds themselves giving in to bits and pieces of their organizational identity. The struggler will use all of their resources to find and maintain a balance between their organizational identity and their true selves. Micheal Cera, a type-cast actor would fit the struggler. Constantly pigeon-holed into the same role, he slowly morphs in real life to fit his type-cast.
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The struggler has a hard time coming to terms with a balance between who they are and their organizational identity. They refuse to be completely defined by the identity their organization has assigned them but often finds themselves giving in to bits and pieces of their organizational identity. The struggler will use all of their resources to find and maintain a balance between their organizational identity and their true selves. Micheal Cera, a type-cast actor would fit the struggler. Constantly pigeon-holed into the same role, he slowly morphs in real life to fit his type-cast.
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Surfer
The surfer moves fluidly between identities. Often they have many identities at the same time. They keep separate identities for separate situations. For example a true-self identity, a family-based identity and organizational identity; all separate identities all still the surfer. Some of their identities are well formed and complete, others are fragmented. They adapt well to different situations. Surfers are constantly changing and creating new identities when needed or just because they want to. Like A Virgin, Holiday, Vogue. Madonna is fluid in her how she presents herself, reinventing her entire persona at the drop of a hat.
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The surfer moves fluidly between identities. Often they have many identities at the same time. They keep separate identities for separate situations. For example a true-self identity, a family-based identity and organizational identity; all separate identities all still the surfer. Some of their identities are well formed and complete, others are fragmented. They adapt well to different situations. Surfers are constantly changing and creating new identities when needed or just because they want to. Like A Virgin, Holiday, Vogue. Madonna is fluid in her how she presents herself, reinventing her entire persona at the drop of a hat.
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Story Teller
The storytellers’s main goal is to create a narrative for themselves. To reconstruct the past and re-frame the present to create a certain future or image of themselves that storyteller finds appealing. Storytellers may be completely truthful in their renditions of their life, whether it is their work life, personal life, or combination of the two, choosing to create a certain mood or feeling they are trying to portray or actually want for themselves. Or they may pick and choose pieces of their life, embellish, or completely fabricate their past and present to create and ideal future or image. Martha Stewart is a great example of a storyteller, spinning her criminal activity so that her entertainment career was untarnished.
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The storytellers’s main goal is to create a narrative for themselves. To reconstruct the past and re-frame the present to create a certain future or image of themselves that storyteller finds appealing. Storytellers may be completely truthful in their renditions of their life, whether it is their work life, personal life, or combination of the two, choosing to create a certain mood or feeling they are trying to portray or actually want for themselves. Or they may pick and choose pieces of their life, embellish, or completely fabricate their past and present to create and ideal future or image. Martha Stewart is a great example of a storyteller, spinning her criminal activity so that her entertainment career was untarnished.
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Strategist
The strategist is incredibly goal oriented. They tend or keep two identities a true-self and a separate organizational identity. When they enter a new organization environment they may choose to observe and then create what they believe to be an ideal identity for their new organization’s culture. They are chameleons shifting and tweaking their workplace identity consistently to conform to an ideal organizational identity. Ryan Howard a character in the office was a strategist, he was so successful at tailoring his identity that he was able to move from temp to a corporate position in a short amount of time.
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The strategist is incredibly goal oriented. They tend or keep two identities a true-self and a separate organizational identity. When they enter a new organization environment they may choose to observe and then create what they believe to be an ideal identity for their new organization’s culture. They are chameleons shifting and tweaking their workplace identity consistently to conform to an ideal organizational identity. Ryan Howard a character in the office was a strategist, he was so successful at tailoring his identity that he was able to move from temp to a corporate position in a short amount of time.
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Stencil
The stencil does not have the wiggle all the other identities have when it comes to creating, merging, or altering their identity. They cannot have a known separate true-self identity either. The stencil must act within the identity constraints that their organization has given them or face some sort of consequence. Once assigned an identity by their organization it is extremely difficult to break out of the mold they have been set in. This sort of identity regulation is often seen in the military, Molding to fit the stencil starts in basic training and is reinforced throughout association.
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The stencil does not have the wiggle all the other identities have when it comes to creating, merging, or altering their identity. They cannot have a known separate true-self identity either. The stencil must act within the identity constraints that their organization has given them or face some sort of consequence. Once assigned an identity by their organization it is extremely difficult to break out of the mold they have been set in. This sort of identity regulation is often seen in the military, Molding to fit the stencil starts in basic training and is reinforced throughout association.
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Soldier
The soldier embraces the identity their organization wants them to have. They willing accept the mold in which the organization has created for them. Soldiers often see themselves as a part of something bigger than themselves. This allows them to accept being de-personalized and be part of a unit instead of an individual. They identify with being part of a unit and have no problem downplaying their individual quirks to create a more cohesive unit environment. Oh Captain! My Captain! Captain America is the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan and also a perfect example of soldier identity regulation.
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The soldier embraces the identity their organization wants them to have. They willing accept the mold in which the organization has created for them. Soldiers often see themselves as a part of something bigger than themselves. This allows them to accept being de-personalized and be part of a unit instead of an individual. They identify with being part of a unit and have no problem downplaying their individual quirks to create a more cohesive unit environment. Oh Captain! My Captain! Captain America is the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan and also a perfect example of soldier identity regulation.
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All information for this page came from:
Eisenberg, E. M., Goodall, H. L., Trethewey, A. (2013). Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint. Seventh Edition. Boston, MA. Bedford St. Martin's.
Eisenberg, E. M., Goodall, H. L., Trethewey, A. (2013). Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint. Seventh Edition. Boston, MA. Bedford St. Martin's.