Hollywood has a nasty habit: typecasting.

Once you’ve played “quirky best friend” or “action hero #7,” that’s all directors see you as.
It’s why Bryan Cranston spent years as the goofy dad in Malcolm in the Middle before shocking everyone as Walter White.
Or why nobody saw Heath Ledger’s Joker coming - because in their heads, he was still the sweet guy from 10 Things I Hate About You.

We all get typecast. Not just in movies. At work.

You’ve grown. You’ve leveled up. You’ve taken on more risk, more scope, more strategy.
But the people around you? Still treat you like the person you were two years ago.

“He’s the solid one.”
“She gets it done.”
“They’re great in the weeds.”

Sound familiar?
That’s the pigeonhole problem. And if you’re not careful, it becomes your career ceiling.

Why this happens more often than not

Cognitive psychology explains this one: once someone builds a mental model of who you are, their brain resists updating it.
It’s called confirmation bias.

Translation: even if your skills evolve, your colleagues’ perception of you doesn’t, because their brain is actively filtering out anything that contradicts the “old you.”

So, just like an actor has to shock the audience to get a new role, you have to deliberately reintroduce yourself at work.

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How to reintroduce yourself: work edition

• Narrate your own shift.
  ​Say: “Here’s what I’ve been leaning into lately…” People won’t update your identity unless you make it visible.
• Connect your past to your present.
  ​“You’ve known me as someone who executes well and I’ve been translating that into strategic planning this year.”
• Change your 1:1s.
  ​Don’t just share tasks. Share how you’re thinking, not just what you’re doing.
• Test-drive your new identity.
  ​Use conversations to plant the seeds of who you are becoming, not just who you’ve been.

Reminder that you are not the version of yourself they remember. You’re the one they haven’t met yet.

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P.S. this isn’t for everyone

Some people are happy being who they are and that’s perfectly fine.
But if you want to grow bigger than your current reality, if you want to stretch into the version of you that scares and excites you? Then you need to take control of your casting.

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But if it is for you, here’s a final thought.

Actors don’t break typecasting by accident. They do it by taking risks that make people see them differently.

It’s the same at work. If you don’t reintroduce yourself, people will keep booking you for the same role and that too, long after you’ve outgrown it.

👉 If you’re ready to stop being typecast and start being recognized for the leader you are now - reintroduce yourself with the scripts above. And if you need more, let’s talk.

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My best, always,

Shar

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