I’ve found this idea holds up everywhere: on the field, in the office, and even on a personal level. You’ve probably heard the “run your own race” version of it, but this year I really tried to push the idea with my team—and honestly, with myself too. Because the truth is: we all get pulled into playing someone else’s game if we’re not paying attention.

We play in a league with teams that have wildly different styles, and it’s incredibly easy—almost automatic—to drift away from who we are. The same thing happens to individuals. We see what others are doing, we feel pressure, we compare, we react. And before we know it, the way we’re showing up doesn’t look anything like the way we intended to.

In soccer, this happens constantly. Maybe you want to play a possession-based style—control the ball, dictate the tempo, wear down the opponent. Then you face a team that wants nothing to do with the ball. Every time they get it, they go direct, long, and fast.

If you’re not focused, you slip right into matching their style. You abandon the midfield. You rush. You start playing the exact game they want—not the one that fits your strengths or identity.

The same thing happens in the workplace. Take Company A, which sells soccer goals through relationships—deep, personal connections with coaches and clubs. It’s slow, intentional, and it works. Then a new competitor shows up blasting online ads everywhere.

If Company A panics and tries to mirror that approach, maybe it works for a minute. Or maybe they drift away from what makes them successful. They stop nurturing relationships. They chase clicks. They lose clarity. They get reactive. Suddenly, they’re not playing their game anymore—they’re playing someone else’s, and they’re worse at it.

And the same thing happens to us as people. We see someone else’s path, pace, or style, and we think, That’s what I should do. We forget our strengths, our preferences, our values, and the way we’re built to operate. We start acting out of comparison or pressure instead of identity. Hopefully these examples show why knowing—and sticking to—your identity matters so much. When the pressure hits, or the stakes rise, or someone else is driving the pace, we drift. Teams drift. Individuals drift. Suddenly nothing we’re doing looks like the plan we started with.

So, how do we stay true to ourselves—both individually and as a team?

Create an environment where people can be authentic.

People can’t play “our way” if they can’t be themselves in the first place. If they don’t feel safe being who they are as individuals, they’ll never fully show up in the way the team needs. The more psychological safety you build, the more likely people are to show up as who they actually are—and stay aligned with who we are together.

Be painfully clear about who we are and what we’re trying to do.

I’ve coached teams where I thought everything was obvious… until it wasn’t. Clarity isn’t a one-time announcement; it’s repetition, reinforcement, and shared language. You know it’s working when teammates start coaching each other—calling out drift, reminding the group who we are, and keeping each other aligned.

Help individuals recognize when they drift from their own game.

Teams slip, but people slip too.

Encourage self-awareness:

– What throws you off your style?

– What pressures pull you out of your strengths?

– What situations make you play someone else’s game instead of your own?

When individuals can spot those moments—and course-correct—the whole team benefits.

Whether we’re talking about a team or a single person, success comes down to the same thing: the clearer you are about who you are and how you want to operate, the better your chances of actually doing it. Identity drives everything.

When a team or an individual shows up grounded in who they are, the odds of success skyrocket.

Because at the end of the day, the team that wins is the one that is better at being themselves—and the same is true for each of us.

Steve

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