How Carl Walsh Thinks About Titles And Identity

When your title changes, the first question is not "What do I do now?" Carl Walsh says it is "Who am I now?" He shares a way to find your answer, and a first step you can take today.

Carl Walsh is the Co-Founder of We Are Alpha Dogs. In this conversation, he and Kenny talk about what happens to a leader when titles and roles change, and artificial intelligence (AI) is on the way. Carl calls the answer "the thread": the thing you keep doing, and the thing that keeps coming back to you, through every job. They cover how he found his at Disney, why peace and energy together are the sign to watch for, and why a plan is a direction, not a set of steps. Carl closes with a first step: take inventory.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome To The Show

01:09 Big Changes Are Coming For Leaders

01:53 Not "What Do I Do Now?" But "Who Am I Now?"

03:44 Is Your Job Who You Are?

04:36 What Carl Calls The Thread

05:30 Hire For Fit, Then Teach The Skills

06:20 The Moment At The Disney Store

07:57 These Weren't Separate Lives

10:55 When You Are Off Thread

11:43 Why The Thread Is Hard To See

14:23 Peace And Energy Together

15:54 Walking Away To Keep His Self-Respect

18:32 Giving Someone Else A New Career

21:49 Curiosity And The First PC

25:49 The Things That Keep Finding You

28:40 Plans Versus Direction

33:48 Help Your People Move Up And Out

35:56 A First Step: Take Inventory

39:41 Where To Find Carl

What You'll Learn

• Why the first question is "Who am I now?" When a title or role goes away, Carl says your identity can feel removed

• What Carl calls "the thread": the thing you keep returning to, and that keeps returning to you. When your title, role, or stage changes, that is what you follow

• The afternoon he found his: watching a mother and child play with toys in a Disney Store. He saw it was the moment the work was for, and that his stage, record store, and corporate years were not separate lives

• The sign to look for: a sense of peace joined with energy to move forward. Carl says those two don't usually travel together

• Why a job that is off your thread shows. If you can barely walk in the door, he says, it is time to move on

• Why a plan should be a direction, not a script. Keep your eyes open, and take what gets you a little closer to what you want

• For leaders: pay attention to what your people want and where they want to go, and help them on that path

• A first step: take inventory. Look back at the moments that worked and the ones that didn't, because the opposite proves the positive

About Carl Walsh

Carl Walsh is the Co-Founder of We Are Alpha Dogs. He spent 20 years as a theater actor, director, and artistic director, 27 years as a corporate leader, and 21 years as a speaker and, more recently, a consultant. He and his partner focus on small business.

Carl Walsh Resources

Website: https://wearealphadogs.com

Email: Carl@wearealphadogs.com

Dogologic, a free 30-second quiz that gives you a business personality profile (pick a dog, don't overthink it): https://dogologic.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlwalsh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigd.og414/

Podcast: The Oval Table, on all major platforms

Listen on Other Platforms

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts