Identity is not fixed; it is constantly changing. Who people become is shaped in part by the stories they tell about themselves and the future they want, says management and organisation scholar Babak Ghaempanah. His key recommendation: ‘Play, grow and write the stories you want to live by.’
From ‘Who am I?’ to ‘Who am I becoming?’
We are creatures who tell stories. We create stories that, in turn, create us. But how do we actually become who we are? Ghaempanah’s research shows that identity is not fixed, nor is it simply inherited from the past. ‘It is an ongoing, future-oriented process shaped by the stories we live by.’
Four building blocks of identity becoming
Ghaempanah identifies four key building blocks of identity becoming. ‘First, people initially try out new identities through play before committing to them. They also carry multiple selves that are constantly in dialogue with one another and with society. Our vision of the future, alongside the past, also helps determine who we become. The fourth building block is the broader cultural narrative of our time, which is currently shifting towards a framework known as metamodernism.’
Space for growth and change
According to Ghaempanah, the practical message of the research is clear: ‘Who we become is not entirely within our own control, nor is it entirely determined by our circumstances. What we can do is play, grow and write the stories we live by.’
For individuals, the research provides a well-founded framework for personal growth. The focus shifts from the fixed question ‘Who am I?’ to the dynamic question ‘Who am I becoming?’ Ghaempanah: ‘Rather than searching for one 'true self', people can engage with their different inner voices and reflect on the futures they imagine. This is not simply a matter of individual will. Becoming is also shaped by the social structures, cultural narratives, and relational contexts we inhabit. Narrative and dialogical tools can support this process, creating space for both personal reflection and a more honest engagement with the world we live in.’
These insights may also connect with current societal challenges, such as widespread uncertainty about identity and burnout resulting from work.
Applications in work and organisations
The insights also have direct applications for professionals and organisations. Narrative and dialogical tools, for example, can be used by career advisers to support master’s students during the stressful transition from study to employment.
Organisations can also use this approach in leadership and diversity programmes. Here, the focus is on employees’ lived stories rather than rigid personality tests.
Researching how identity develops
Ghaempanah takes a constructivist and narrative approach. ‘The focus is less on universal truths and more on how people make meaning of their lives through the stories they tell.’
His research consists of four separate studies, each examining one of the building blocks of identity becoming. Two of the studies are conceptual in nature. One develops a model by bringing together existing literature on identity play and the stories we live by. The other examines emerging cultural discourses from a theoretical and philosophical perspective.
The other two studies are empirical. One examines identity and career narratives from a dialogical perspective. The other analyses stories about the future collected from master’s students who are about to enter the labour market.
The stories we tell
Stories are central to all four studies: how they are told, what they do and do not contain, which voices are present within them and how they shape identity.
The research does not use laboratory experiments. Instead, it focuses directly on human experiences and on how people make meaning of their lives.