Some things end because they've done exactly what they were meant to do.

This episode is that kind of ending.

After five years and 125 episodes, this marks the completion of one chapter of Reframe to Create and the beginning of a new season.

In this final episode, I share five lessons this work has revealed:

• Creation begins with identity, not strategy
• Reframing is the engine of transformation
• Ownership is non-negotiable
• Creation is relational
• Story is sense-making, not performance

What began as a podcast about creating with your gifts became something deeper---a practice of choosing the story you live inside.

Now the work is expanding:

From individual transformation → to collective narrative
From meaning-making → to world-making
From me → to we

If your team or organization is ready to shift its narrative identity and get unstuck, email joy@reframetocreate.com with "Narrative Identity" in the subject line.

This isn't goodbye.
It's the end of one story.

And the quiet beginning of another.

It's time to reframe to create.

About: The Reframe to Create podcast is hosted by Joy Spencer, an Executive Leadership and Storytelling Coach, Speaker, and Organizational Development Consultant working with professionals and leaders at all levels within organizations. Joy leverages over 17 years of experience she gained while working to champion change in social justice movements, including those related to global access to essential medicines and consumer advocacy for online privacy. This work required a dogged commitment to not merely challenging the status quo, but to reimagining and working towards creating an ideal future. It is this commitment to creating that has shaped Joy's coaching philosophy and approach today. Using her signature C.R.E.A.T.E. framework, Joy guides her clients through a process to become incomparable in work so they can get paid to be themselves.

Follow Joy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-spencer/

You can only go as far as who you are today.

That might feel limiting… unless you remember this:

You're not stuck with who you are today.

In this final episode of the 3-part Narrative Identity series, I walk you through Step 3: Reframe — the intentional rebuilding of your narrative identity so you can expand what's possible for you and your team.

Because you don't create from strategy alone.
You create from identity.

This episode builds on:

• Reframe to Create Episode 123 – Reveal

• Reframe to Create Episode 124 – Reclaim

• And earlier identity foundations in Reframe to Create Episode 122 and Reframe to Create Episode 31

In this episode, I share:

• Why you cannot skip the process and jump straight to slogans
• The difference between identity work and strategy work
• The powerful rallying phrase your team must define:
We are… We believe… We belong to…
• The bonus clarity statement:
We do… so that… the people we serve can…

When your narrative identity is clear, alignment increases, shadow narratives lose power, and innovation gains momentum.

You are not limited by who you are today.
You can build a new you.
And your team can too.

Ready to reveal, reclaim, and reframe your narrative identity?

Email me at joy@reframetocreate.com with the subject line: Narrative Identity

It's time to reframe to create.

Referenced Episodes

Reframe to Create Episode 124 - If You Won't Choose, The Choice Will Be Made For You (Part 2 of 3): Reclaim

Reframe to Create Episode 123 - What You Won't Look at Will Kill You (Part 1 of 3): Reveal

Reframe to Create Episode 122 - It All Starts With and Goes Back to Who You Are

Reframe to Create Episode 31 - You Can Only Go As Far As You Are

About: The Reframe to Create podcast is hosted by Joy Spencer, an Executive Leadership and Storytelling Coach, Speaker, and Organizational Development Consultant working with professionals and leaders at all levels within organizations. Joy leverages over 17 years of experience she gained while working to champion change in social justice movements, including those related to global access to essential medicines and consumer advocacy for online privacy. This work required a dogged commitment to not merely challenging the status quo, but to reimagining and working towards creating an ideal future. It is this commitment to creating that has shaped Joy's coaching philosophy and approach today. Using her signature C.R.E.A.T.E. framework, Joy guides her clients through a process to become incomparable in work so they can get paid to be themselves.

Follow Joy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-spencer/

In Episode 123, we talked about Reveal—the courage it takes to finally look at what's already shaping your behavior, your decisions, and your results.

Today, we move into Part 2: Reclaim.

Because once you can see your narrative identity, you don't get to stay neutral anymore.

Not choosing… is still choosing.

And that choice always comes with consequences.

In this episode, I explore why reclaiming your narrative identity is fundamentally about making intentional choices—especially as teams and organizations that want to create something new, meaningful, and lasting.

• Why avoiding a decision doesn't protect you from consequences—it guarantees them

• How passive choices quietly shape team culture and outcomes

• What it really means to reclaim your narrative identity (hint: it's not about keeping everything)

• Why teams that don't choose their narrative identity end up being driven by shadow identities

• How unspoken assumptions sabotage alignment, strategy, and innovation

  Why narrative identity work must be done together and out loud

In Episode 125, which is the final episode of this 3-part series, I'll walk you through Reframe—the step where you intentionally reconstruct a new narrative identity that sets you up to create and innovate in power.

Reveal shows you what's there.
Reclaim helps you choose what stays.
Reframe is where the future gets built.

If you're ready to reclaim your creating power and help your team reveal, reclaim, and reframe its narrative identity, email me at:

📩 joy@reframetocreate.com
Subject: Narrative Identity

Let's build the narrative identity that can actually support the impact you're here to create.

Referenced Episodes

Reframe to Create Episode 123 - What You Won't Look at Will Kill You (Part 1 of 3): Reveal

Reframe to Create Episode 122 - It All Starts With and Goes Back to Who You Are

Reframe to Create Episode 31 - You Can Only Go As Far As You Are

About: The Reframe to Create podcast is hosted by Joy Spencer, an Executive Leadership and Storytelling Coach, Speaker, and Organizational Development Consultant working with professionals and leaders at all levels within organizations. Joy leverages over 17 years of experience she gained while working to champion change in social justice movements, including those related to global access to essential medicines and consumer advocacy for online privacy. This work required a dogged commitment to not merely challenging the status quo, but to reimagining and working towards creating an ideal future. It is this commitment to creating that has shaped Joy's coaching philosophy and approach today. Using her signature C.R.E.A.T.E. framework, Joy guides her clients through a process to become incomparable in work so they can get paid to be themselves.

Follow Joy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-spencer/

It's time for us to leave our ostrich ways behind.

In Part 1 of this three-part series, I'm calling us in to stop avoiding the things we don't want to see. Because what we refuse to look at doesn't disappear. It quietly works against us—undermining our creativity, momentum, strategy, and our ability to create real impact together.

This episode is about revealing your narrative identity: making the invisible visible, giving voice to what's been assumed, and naming what's already shaping (and sabotaging) what you're trying to build.

• Why "not looking" is one of the most common and costly patterns for individuals and teams

• How narrative identity silently determines how far we can create, build, and innovate

• The critical difference between thinking something and saying it out loud or writing it down

• Why making the implicit explicit is a lost art and essential leadership work

• How avoidance shows up as "spinsville" in teams, strategy, and planning

• Why clarity requires contrast (and why that discomfort is necessary)

This first step—Reveal—is grounded in six foundational questions. I especially want you to do this work with your team, organization, or movement:

1. Who are we?

2. Who do we belong to?

3. Why do we exist?

4. What are our values—lived, not laminated?

5. What do those values mean for what we will and won't do?

6. What do we believe—and invite others to believe with us?

These questions don't create a mess. They reveal the mess that's already there so we can finally do something about it.

I've learned (sometimes the hard way) that:

• We can't fix what we won't see.

• We can't create beyond who we believe we are.

• Teams divided on identity will always pull apart, not together.

• Strategy, vision, and goals fail when identity work is skipped.

Asking these questions doesn't cause misalignment. It exposes what's already working at cross-purposes.

If you're thinking, "This feels too messy to do on our own," you're probably right. I share why facilitated space, patience, and structure matter when teams do this work and how I support groups through Revealing, Reclaiming, and Reframing their narrative identity so they can move forward with real momentum.

• Part 2: Reclaim — Choosing the parts of your narrative identity that are lost that you want to keep, and which ones you want to get rid of

• Part 3: Reframe — Rebuilding a narrative identity from the parts that work and which will let you create what you're here to create

🎧 Related listening: Episode 122: "It All Starts With and Goes Back to Who You Are" sets the stage for this series.

If you're tired of what's quietly killing your creativity, focus, and forward motion—this is where the work begins.

About: The Reframe to Create podcast is hosted by Joy Spencer, an Executive Leadership and Storytelling Coach, Speaker, and Organizational Development Consultant working with professionals and leaders at all levels within organizations. Joy leverages over 17 years of experience she gained while working to champion change in social justice movements, including those related to global access to essential medicines and consumer advocacy for online privacy. This work required a dogged commitment to not merely challenging the status quo, but to reimagining and working towards creating an ideal future. It is this commitment to creating that has shaped Joy's coaching philosophy and approach today. Using her signature C.R.E.A.T.E. framework, Joy guides her clients through a process to become incomparable in work so they can get paid to be themselves.

Follow Joy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-spencer/

It all starts with and goes back to who you are.
Not just who you are as an individual, but who you are together.

Your team.
Your organization.
Your movement.

If you're stuck.
If progress feels slow or painfully circular.
If you're working hard but not moving forward sustainably…

Chances are, it's not a strategy problem.
It's not a talent problem.
It's not a goal-setting or execution problem.

It's an identity problem.

In this episode, I unpack why so many teams end up in what I call Spinsville—endless conversations, competing perspectives, and lots of motion with very little momentum—and why the root cause is almost always a foggy, fractured, or misaligned narrative identity.

Because who you believe you are determines what you can create.

• Why teams spin in circles even when the data, strategy, and intentions are good

• How misalignment around "who we are" quietly drains energy, trust, and momentum

• Why identity—not strategy—is the true source of organizational function or dysfunction

• A simple story that reveals how narrative identity shapes behavior (even when no one's watching)

• Why you can't skip straight to creating a new narrative without understanding the one already operating

• The three essential steps for narrative identity transformation:

• • Reveal what's hidden and invisible

  • Reclaim shared meaning from your stories

  • Reframe a narrative identity that fuels forward momentum

I also connect this work to conversations I've had with David Hutchens and Hans Hansen, and share why sense-making—not just storytelling—is where real alignment is forged.

When a team shares a clear, connected narrative identity, everything else gets easier:
strategy, decisions, priorities, execution, innovation.

When that identity is fractured, no amount of planning will save you.

If your team has been spinning its wheels, this episode will help you understand why—and show you where to start if you're ready to get your creating power back.

To continue exploring narrative identity and transformation, check out:

• Episode 31 - You Can Only Go As Far As You Are

• Episode 60 - A New Approach to Your Transformation | Hans Hansen Part 2

• Episode 59 - The Missing Key to Your Transformation | Hans Hansen Part 1

• Episode 120 - From Storytelling to Sense-Making: How Teams Build Meaning Together | David Hutchens

And if you're ready to do this work now, email me at joy@reframetocreate.com with the subject line Narrative Identity.

It's time to reveal, reclaim, and reframe—so you can create the legacy you'll be proud of.

I'm done, y'all. It's time to drop the idea that you have imposter syndrome for good.

In this episode, I'm not helping you "fix" imposter syndrome. I'm helping you challenge and discard the entire idea. You'll learn where this concept came from, why it doesn't serve you, and how to understand your feelings without pathologizing your humanity.

We explore:

• The real definition of "imposter" (and why it's NOT you)

• How your environment might actually be the culprit

• The history behind the "imposter syndrome" label

• Inner Blocks (GAILs) and how to reframe your emotional experience

• Five powerful reframes to replace this limiting narrative

You're not an imposter. You don't have a syndrome.

You're a human with gifts meant for service and this episode will show you how to come back to that truth.

About: The Reframe to Create podcast is hosted by Joy Spencer, an Executive Leadership and Storytelling Coach, Speaker, and Organizational Development Consultant working with professionals and leaders at all levels within organizations. Joy leverages over 17 years of experience she gained while working to champion change in social justice movements, including those related to global access to essential medicines and consumer advocacy for online privacy. This work required a dogged commitment to not merely challenging the status quo, but to reimagining and working towards creating an ideal future. It is this commitment to creating that has shaped Joy's coaching philosophy and approach today. Using her signature C.R.E.A.T.E. framework, Joy guides her clients through a process to become incomparable in work so they can get paid to be themselves.

Follow Joy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-spencer/

Are you ready to unlock the secret of storytelling and data?

If you are, I'm ready to share it with you so you can finally learn how to use data to tell a powerful story and how to tell a story that leverages the right data.

In this episode, I'm sharing with you the two reframes that have absolutely transformed the way I think about data and storytelling. These are reframes I now share with leaders because they change everything about how you show up in front of a room.

You'll hear why you are the storyteller (yes, you, not your slides, not your deck, not your one-pager), and why your real job isn't dumping numbers but bringing insights. I'm also sharing a powerful analogy that will help you rethink data completely, and you'll learn the simple storytelling with data pattern I call One. Many. Stat.

I'm also sharing a personal example from my childhood of how to use One. Many. Stat.

This is the way I've seen data used most effectively, and once you learn it, you'll start seeing it everywhere.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to transform raw data into meaningful insights

• How to avoid "data dumping" and step into your role as the insight-bringer

• Why PowerPoint is not a story (and never will be!)

• How journalists and great communicators weave story and data together

• How to choose the right data by uncovering the human story behind the statistic

• How to use the One. Many. Stat. framework to bring your audience into the meaning behind your numbers

If you're tired of watching people glaze over when you present your data, then this episode is for you.

See you inside, Creating Maven.

About: The Reframe to Create podcast is hosted by Joy Spencer, an Executive Leadership and Storytelling Coach, Speaker, and Organizational Development Consultant working with professionals and leaders at all levels within organizations. Joy leverages over 17 years of experience she gained while working to champion change in social justice movements, including those related to global access to essential medicines and consumer advocacy for online privacy. This work required a dogged commitment to not merely challenging the status quo, but to reimagining and working towards creating an ideal future. It is this commitment to creating that has shaped Joy's coaching philosophy and approach today. Using her signature C.R.E.A.T.E. framework, Joy guides her clients through a process to become incomparable in work so they can get paid to be themselves.

Follow Joy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-spencer/