Leadership Lessons From Unlikely Places: What Steve Jobs and BP's CEO Taught Me About Identity

Sometimes the most powerful leadership lessons come from watching what happens when leaders lose sight of who they are.

Two stories stick with me. One about Steve Jobs. One about BP's CEO during the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Both taught me something essential about leadership identity and the cost of losing it.

Steve Jobs and the Wilderness Years

Most people know Steve Jobs as the visionary who built Apple into one of the most valuable companies in the world. But there's a chapter in his story that's equally important: the years he spent in the wilderness after being forced out of Apple.

When Jobs left Apple, he didn't just lose a job. He lost his identity. He was no longer the wunderkind CEO. He was no longer the face of the company he'd built.

And in that loss, he had to figure out who he was apart from the role.

He started NeXT. He bought Pixar. He experimented. He failed. He learned. And in that process, he became a different kind of leader. One who understood not just technology, but storytelling. Not just products, but experience. Not just business, but art.

When he returned to Apple, he wasn't the same person who'd left. He was someone who'd been forced to rebuild his identity from the ground up. And that rebuilt identity is what made Apple's second act possible.

BP's CEO and the Cost of Disconnection

During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP's CEO made a comment that became infamous. In the midst of an environmental catastrophe, he said, "I'd like my life back."

That statement revealed something critical: a complete disconnection between his identity as a leader and the reality of what was happening.

He wasn't seeing himself as responsible for the crisis. He was seeing himself as a victim of it. His identity was so tied to a certain image of success, of control, of being above the mess, that he couldn't step into the leadership the moment required.

And that disconnection cost him. It cost BP. It cost the communities affected by the spill.

Because when your identity as a leader is disconnected from the reality you're facing, you can't lead effectively. You're too busy protecting your image to actually solve the problem.

What These Stories Teach Us

Both of these stories are about identity. About who you are as a leader when the context changes. When the role you've been playing doesn't fit anymore. When the image you've built is challenged.

Jobs' story shows what's possible when you're willing to let go of an old identity and build a new one. When you're willing to be in the wilderness. To not know. To rebuild from a place of authenticity instead of image.

BP's CEO shows what happens when you cling to an identity that no longer fits. When you're so invested in protecting your image that you lose sight of your responsibility. When you prioritize your own narrative over the reality others are experiencing.

The Question of Identity in Leadership

As a leader, your identity matters. Not the image you project. Not the role you play. But who you actually are. What you value. What you're willing to stand for. What you're willing to let go of.

Because contexts change. Industries shift. Crises happen. And in those moments, if your identity is too rigid, too tied to a specific image or role, you won't be able to adapt.

But if your identity is rooted in something deeper, in values and vision and a willingness to keep becoming, you can navigate anything.

My Own Identity Crisis

I had my own version of this when I returned to my art. For years, my identity was tied to my professional role. I was a leader. A strategist. Someone who had answers.

But when I started painting again, I had to be someone different. Someone who didn't have answers. Someone who was learning. Someone who was willing to make mistakes publicly.

That shift was uncomfortable. It challenged the identity I'd built. But it also freed me.

Because I wasn't just the role anymore. I was a person. A person with creativity and curiosity and a willingness to explore. And that fuller identity made me a better leader.

I could hold complexity. I could admit when I didn't know. I could create space for others to do the same.

Building an Abundant Leadership Identity

An abundant leadership identity isn't about having all the answers. It's about being willing to keep learning. To keep growing. To keep becoming.

It's about being rooted in values instead of image. In purpose instead of position. In who you're becoming instead of who you've been.

That kind of identity is flexible. It can adapt when contexts change. It can hold uncertainty. It can lead through crisis without needing to protect an image.

And it creates abundance. For you and for the people you lead. Because when your identity isn't rigid, you can see more possibilities. You can take more risks. You can create more space for others to grow.

The Wilderness Might Be Necessary

If you're in a moment of transition right now, if your old identity doesn't fit anymore, if you're not sure who you're becoming, that's not a problem. That's the wilderness.

And the wilderness is where transformation happens.

It's where you let go of the image you've been protecting and start building something more authentic. More aligned. More true to who you actually are.

It's uncomfortable. But it's also where the most powerful leadership emerges.

So don't rush through it. Don't try to skip it. Let it teach you. Let it reshape you. Let it show you who you're becoming.

Because the leader on the other side of the wilderness? That's the one people will follow. Not because of the image you project, but because of the authenticity you embody.

 

 

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