Building Your Identity Capital

Identity Capital is the result of everything you've done in your life until now.

Abstract: This essay explores the concept of identity capital—a blend of tangible achievements and intangible traits that shape how others perceive you and influence your access to opportunities. The essay emphasizes that identity capital functions as a personal currency, driving career growth, reputation, and freedom of choice. The essay encourages individuals to audit their identity capital, intentionally build and leverage it, and share it generously to uplift others. By aligning how you present yourself with who you aspire to be, and making bold, strategic choices, you can unlock doors to meaningful work and a fulfilling life. Ultimately, identity capital is not just about success—it's about empowerment and the ability to live with purpose.

How do people talk about you when you’re not in the room? Whether you like it or not, perception is reality. How others perceive you is the definition of your reputation. A big part of how others perceive you is built up in your identity capital. The concept of identity capital popularized by Meg Jay in "The Defining Decade," refers to the collection of personal assets, skills, and experiences accumulated over time that make up your personal brand and can be leveraged for career growth. Identity capital is how you build power.

Identity capital doesn’t necessarily lead to monetary wealth, it leads to freedom. The goal of building identity capital is that it allows you to choose the life you want. It frees you to do the work you want to do and support the causes you care about, which means satisfaction. Having identity capital means you can make choices that are fulfilling and productive. When you have identity capital in the areas you are passionate about, it open specific doors that you want to walk through.

Identity capital is the sum of your experiences, skills, hobbies, and resources that make you who you are. It's a metaphorical currency that can be used to "purchase" opportunities and build networks.

The tangible items are what you can say you’ve accomplished: degrees, schools, grades, clubs and jobs. The intangible items are your innate personality traits: how you problem solve, your values, your empathy, and your communication skills. Your network is also a critical contributor to your identity capital, because who you know is almost if not more important than what you know. Understanding and leveraging your set of unique experiences and resources can help set you apart from your competition and stand out.

Your success is largely a reflection of your identity capital. When people perceive you as a person with a lot of identity capital, they give you more opportunities and access. People take into account factors such as how you carry yourself, how well you dress, how articulate you are, how much charisma you have, how much integrity you have, as much as they do your resume. That is why it is important to be aware of your identity capital, know how to leverage your identity capital and learn to grow your identity capital.

Know Your Own Identity Capital

Everyone should know their identity capital. Start with the tangible assets such as your education (degrees and certifications), your job experience, your extracurriculars (hobbies and volunteer work) and your accomplishments (awards and projects). Next, take stock of your intangible assets: where you were from and how you grew up, the values you were raised with and the causes you care about, the skills and knowledge you’ve gained from your life experiences. Your identity capital is the sum of all the things that make you who you are. What are the stories you tell others about yourself? People want to know people with interesting stories.

It is important to take stock of your identity capital so you know what you’re bringing to the table. If someone is assessing the value you add to a team, they will be evaluating your identity capital. The will want to know how your identity capital can help them achieve their ultimate goals. Do you have relevant experience or education in an area they are lacking in? Do you have a network of relationships that could be helpful with sales or fundraising? Have you ever led a team in a similar situation before? You are always being judged by your identity capital.

Leverage and Grow Your Identity Capital

Once you know what you bring to the table, you should lean into it. Your personal strengths are your superpowers and should give you confidence. Your identity capital should open doors for you. When you are seen as knowledgeable and respected for your insights, you build a reputation. This reputation allows you to build relationships with other respected individuals with high levels of identity capital. Networking with high capital people adds to your identity capital and value. Use your identity capital to get speaking engagements on panels and events which will give you a higher profile. A higher profile allows you to bring attention and awareness to the causes you are passionate about.

Tennis legend Billie Jean King famously once said, “You have to see it to be it,” referring to the importance of girls being inspired by seeing other women and girls participate in sports. But it’s just as important for others to be able to see it to believe it as well. You have to dress and act the part, for people to believe that you deserve it. You don’t have to be senior to act senior. If you are an athlete and you can upset a top seed in a Grand Slam, it won’t be a big leap for people believe that you could be a top seed someday. If you are a young associate at a venture capital firm and you identify and invest in the next Nvidia, your general partnership along with partners at other firms will also take note. It’s important to even dress for the role you want, otherwise you make it more difficult for others to see you in that role. Reduce friction for others being able to see what you want to be. You are building your identity capital with every move you make.

Make intentional and thoughtful choices to build your identity capital. Get a degree or take classes to gain the skills that will be additive to the completing the picture of who you want to be. Go to conferences and panels to network with people in topics that you are passionate about. Take jobs or projects that will increase your exposure to skills that you know you’ll need. Get executive coaching to identify and develop the areas that are holding you back. Live in places that offer the opportunities that will allow you to gain the right experience and meet the right people. If you want to become an actor, you don’t live in Cleveland, you move to Los Angeles. If you want to work in finance, you don’t live in Seattle, you move to New York. If you want to start a tech company, you don’t live in Houston, you move to Silicon Valley. You need to make intentional choices to study, socialize, and live in the places that will increase your odds of building the right identity capital. You rarely stumble your way into it unless you’re really lucky.

Give Away Your Identity Capital

Identity capital is not zero sum. Too many people who have a scarcity mindset are afraid that giving away your identity capital means that you have to lose it. Sharing your identity capital just means that you are helping to bring others up with you. It doesn’t mean that they are going to drag you down with them. I’m a firm believer that as you rise, you should give others a hand up, not kick the ladder out from behind you. But if you have a scarcity mindset, you only care about what is yours, because there’s not enough for anyone else. When you have a abundance mindset, you truly believe that by using your identity capital to help shine a light on others, you can both benefit. The beauty of your identity capital is that it is not finite. It is unlike almost any other form of capital because using your identity capital doesn’t reduce your balance in any way. Your assets, your network and your reputation doesn’t change unless you use your identity capital in a negative way or associate with someone who hurts your reputation.

If you have a bright, promising young talent that you identify and introduce to others, they will appreciate the introduction and the light will shine favorably upon you as well as them. People are always grateful when you add value to their lives, even if they are rich with identity capital. An investor always wants to meet the next big founder. A movie director would love to meet the next ingenue. By helping others with your identity capital, you are helping yourself in return, but that should not be your incentive. Life should not be transactional, it should be transformational. Everything you do in life should be in service of becoming the person you ultimately want to be.

I wish I someone had taught me about identity capital early in my career. I didn't dress the part, I wore free t-shirts and shorts to work at Yahoo! as a young product manager. I did what I was directed to do, and did my best like it was a school assignment. I didn't do more or go above and beyond, because I didn't think I was allowed to. I was meeting expectations, even if my work was exceptional, because I was afraid to break the rules. If you want people to believe you are a leader or have leadership potential, you need to take initiative and make hard decisions. You have to make some big bets, not just small safe bets. You don't need to constantly be calculating risk to avoid failure. People remember success and wins. They forget mistakes and losses much more quickly than we realize. Once you understand this, stop swinging for singles and start swinging for the fences once in a while.

If you’re an Asian American professional and want to learn more about how to apply these learnings with executive coaching, check out The Asian Leadership Center

Key Takeaways

🔍 Know & Audit Your Identity Capital

• List your tangible assets: degrees, job titles, certifications, awards, side projects.

• Identify your intangible assets: personality traits, values, communication style, leadership tendencies.

• Write down personal stories that illustrate your strengths and unique experiences.

🚀 Leverage Your Strengths

• Highlight your identity capital in resumes, interviews, bios, and social media.

• Use your experiences to position yourself as a subject matter expert (SME).

• Pitch yourself for panels, podcasts, speaking events, or leadership opportunities.

📈 Grow Your Capital Intentionally

• Take a course or certification that fills a skill gap.

• Pursue stretch projects or side gigs that showcase leadership or creativity.

• Move (physically or digitally) into spaces where your target industry thrives.

• Attend events, panels, or conferences to meet like-minded, high-capital individuals.

🎯 Be Seen How You Want to Be Seen

• Upgrade your wardrobe or presentation style to reflect the role you want.

• Practice speaking clearly and confidently—consider improv, public speaking classes, or video practice.

• Share thoughtful content online to build credibility and visibility.

🤝 Invest in Your Network

• Connect with others who have high identity capital and offer value to them.

• Make introductions between people who could help each other.

• Mentor or support someone earlier in their journey.

🌱 Give It Away (Growth Mindset)

• Help others build their identity capital—share advice, invite them to events, amplify their work.

• Avoid a scarcity mindset; trust that lifting others will elevate you too.

🧠 Adopt a Bold, Leadership Mentality

• Stop waiting for permission—take initiative and act like a leader.

• Choose projects or bets that could lead to standout success, not just safe wins.

• Remember: people forgive mistakes more than they forget mediocrity.