Michael Andrew Weston is an identity strategist and the owner of Supernormal by Michael Andrew, an agency that provides clients with tools for professional development and marketing with an identity-focused approach. He also serves as the president of Indiana Fashion Foundation, which connects Indiana-based fashion professionals to invaluable resources for career growth. Weston and his agency hosted The Identity Accelerator, a three-day intensive for professionals who aim to gain insight into the intersections of their professional lives and the personal attitudes and strengths that they alone can bring to their careers, in late June. After the retreat’s successful inaugural run, he sat down with PATTERN to offer ten tips for professionals hoping to take on that same approach.
1.) Have an identity outside your career.
MAW: The only way to build a flow in your career is to have an identity outside that of a professional. Otherwise, you’ll spend your life constantly trying to live up to that delegation and your career will run your life.
2.) Be willing to be seen changing.
MAW: Fancy rollouts and launches have their place, but never be intimidated to pivot in front of your audience. In fact, willingness to do so humanizes your experience.
3.) Be a semicolon.
MAW: A semicolon contains a period — a conclusion — and a comma — a continuation. Be like the semicolon, be clear on who you are but fluid enough to become more of yourself.
4.) Remember that what you identify with or as is NOT your identity.
MAW: Your identity is not what you (or others) label or categorize you as. It is the freedom to identify as many things but be defined by none.
5.) Offer value from your values.
MAW: I teach that, “You are the sum total of your values.” It becomes easy to create valuable experiences when you’re giving others an experience with who you are.
6.) Don’t judge it; just say it.
MAW: You’re sure to face challenges in your career or business. I’ve learned that engaging in candid, judgment-free conversation with yourself about the challenges creates an environment for solutions to show up.
7.) Celebrate successes (and I mean, DWELL ON IT)
MAW: This is not a simple “celebrate victories” speech. This is me giving you permission to spend a significant amount of time reflecting on and celebrating your successes. Successes are loaded with lessons and reminders that help to inform your next success.
8.) Never outsource your identity.
MAW: One of the best strategies I’ve learned in business is the art of delegation and outsourcing. However, you must first learn to be internally referenced to set a precedent and standard for your career or business.
9.) Remember authenticity; it’s your authority.
MAW: Authenticity is not about curating a static set of characteristics to define yourself by. Rather, it’s about giving yourself permission — moment by moment — to show up as the purest expression of yourself.
10.) Just BE.
MAW: Remember that identity is an evolutionary experience. So, you’re constantly becoming more of yourself. The more you open yourself up to the FLOW of who you are, the more you’ll become more of who you are.
To learn more about Weston and his agency’s mission and future iterations of The Identity Accelerator, check out their website.
