How over-identifying with your skillset makes you fragile in the age of AI.

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One of the biggest traps of modern work is mistaking a job title for an identity.

Ask someone ‘Who are you?’ and most will answer with their job title. We do this because we want to make it easier for the other person to recognize the skills we bring, what we do, who we represent, and what could be common points of interests to discuss further.

The job title is a mask that makes you identifiable to the masses.

Identity on the other hand is what lies underneath that mask.

It’s your values, your instincts, your understanding of the world and the way you approach problems - qualities that persist even when industries change or roles disappear.

Where a title makes you recognizable to others, identity makes you irreplaceable.

And it’s this distinction that matters most in a world where skills can be automated, but perspective cannot.

But in reality, most people wear the job title mask for too long that they forget the face underneath.

Job titles, roles, and industries become shorthand measures of our worth.

“I’m a data analyst at X company” signals competence, stability, and growth in corporate terms.

Over time, this external measure morphs into an internal identity: “I am my role.”

Once professionals start optimizing for the title (promotion to Senior Analyst, Manager, Director), the measure (title/role) becomes the target.

They double down on excelling in the narrow lane of that Skillset identity.

Yes this narrow lane helped professionals rise through ranks and generate wealth for the past 2-3 generations. But in the age of AI, this skillset identity will also be the ones that could be easily replicated and automated.

I don’t mean to say that skillsets are redundant. In fact it is essential to keep developing new skillsets throughout our lives. But when your identity is rooted in a single skillset, it becomes like the wings of Icarus: powerful enough to lift you, yet fragile enough to bring you down.

According to Greek Mythology Icarus, escaped prison using wings made of feathers and wax. Despite warnings, he flew too close to the sun; the wax melted, and he fell to his death.

The lesson: what gives you success can also cause your downfall if taken to extremes.

Skillset identity serves well in a corporate system because it gave you clarity, credibility, and professional rewards.

But just like Icarus, that very “strength” can become the source of downfall: it narrows your lens, making you blind to broader opportunities where your deeper abilities (decision-making, problem framing, stakeholder management, pattern recognition) could apply.

Your adaptability, your curiosity, your ability to connect dots across domains — these are the qualities that can’t be automated or outsourced. They are not tied to one role but travel with you into every context you step into. They are what turn a career from a straight ladder into a canvas of possibilities.

The shift, then, is from a skillset identity to a capability identity: instead of saying “I am a data analyst,” you begin to see yourself as “I make sense of complex patterns and translate them into clarity.” Instead of “I am a project manager,” it becomes “I align people and resources to make things happen.” The former locks you into a disappearing role; the latter frees you to apply yourself in new arenas where your value multiplies.

But even this is only part of the picture. Identity is not something you can fully map on a whiteboard, it also needs space for expression. To understand your real value, you often have to step outside the lane you’ve been rewarded for and try different possibilities. Sometimes that means experimenting with a side project, talking to a person outside of your domain, or giving yourself permission to follow a curiosity that doesn’t fit neatly into your job description.

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One Bias that impacts our decisions:

Social Identity bias (In-Group Bias)

We don’t just identify with our jobs or titles but we also identify with the groups those labels place us in. This is called social identity bias (or in-group bias): the tendency to favor information, ideas, and people that align with “our group,” while dismissing or undervaluing those that don’t.

When you strongly define yourself as “a marketer,”“an engineer,” or “a corporate professional,” you unconsciously tune into thoughts that validate that identity and filter out perspectives that contradict it. It feels safe, but it also limits what you can learn.

The risk is that you stop accessing new information and challenging ideas- the very things that could stretch your thinking and reveal your deeper value beyond the label.

Noticing this bias matters, because the moment you step outside your in-group lens, you give yourself access to a wider pool of insights, often the ones that spark real growth.

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One Question to reflect for the week:

I appreciate you came this far. While writing this reflection, I was just curious and asked myself "Who am I?". It was clearly an eye-opening exercise and I believe the world will be a better place if everyone ask this question to themselves. So let that be the question to reflect:

I hope you enjoyed this week's version. See you next week.

Best wishes,

Nimalan.
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