11 Jun Exceptional & Exhausted #8: Why AI Disruption Is an Identity Crisis for Senior Leaders
AI disruption is not primarily a skills question for senior leaders. It is an identity question. The leaders finding this moment hardest are not the ones who lack the technical understanding. They are the ones whose sense of professional worth is tied, in ways not yet fully examined, to being indispensable to a system that is about to need them differently.
This week I read the latest publication from Anthropic. The numbers are scroll-stopping. More than 80% of the code now merged into Anthropic’s own systems was written by Claude. Their engineers are producing eight times more output per day than they were in 2024. The pace of change embedded in those numbers is faster than most strategic planning cycles.
I am not writing this to add to the noise about AI disruption. You are already sitting through those strategy off-sites. You already sense where this is heading. What I want to name is what I am noticing in the coaching conversations I am having right now that is not yet being said clearly enough.
Most senior leaders I speak with are carrying two fears simultaneously and have not yet put them in the same sentence.
The first is the career question: will I advance, get recognised, land the next role, before the restructuring changes what that role looks like?
The second is harder to name. It sounds something like: what am I actually worth if the structure I have been building inside for ten or twenty years starts to look fundamentally different?
Both fears have the same root. And both are answered by the same work.
The overdelivering pattern that built the career is the same one that would limit what comes next — whether that is a promotion, a pivot, or a path nobody is currently planning for yet.
It does not stay in the building when the structure changes. It travels.
A senior leader I worked with last year was watching exactly this unfold around her. Fifteen years of being the person the organisation could not afford to lose. Genuinely exceptional. Deliberately built. And only beginning to understand that being indispensable and being valuable on your own terms are two different things.
We did not start with career strategy. We started with the question underneath it: who are you when the system that has been reflecting your value back at you changes what it is reflecting?
Being indispensable and being valuable on your own terms are two different things.
The leaders navigating this moment with the most steadiness are not the ones who saw the disruption coming. They are the ones who had already done a particular kind of inner work: separating who they are from what they produce, understanding their value beyond the system that currently recognises it, leading from a foundation that does not depend on a title they hold.
That question — who are you when the system changes what it is reflecting — is harder than it sounds. It is also the most useful one a senior leader can sit with right now.
A small experiment worth trying this week. Find twenty minutes and write down the answer to this honestly: what would I offer, and to whom, if my current title and organisation disappeared tomorrow?
Write it as a diagnostic rather than a plan. The answer reveals where your sense of professional identity actually lives: inside the structure, or underneath it.
Most people find the answer more available than they expected.
The expertise, the judgment, the specific combination of experience and perspective — these belong to the person, not the building.
What the overdelivering pattern does is obscure that. It keeps the focus on what is being produced rather than on who is doing the producing. The work that addresses the pattern is the same work that prepares you for what comes next. The foundation is identical.
Which pattern is holding your leadership back and quietly shaping how exposed you feel right now? A short quiz names it precisely. Five questions, two minutes: Take the quiz
Becoming the leader your next level is already waiting for.
Danguole Litvinskaite, The Leadership Coach Exceptional & Exhausted Senior Leaders Eventually Find
P.S. The same pattern that blocks the strategic thinking is often what is holding the promotion in place. I write more about this here
Frequently Asked Questions
How is AI disruption affecting senior leader identity and career confidence?
AI disruption is surfacing a question most senior leaders have not yet named clearly: what am I worth if the structure I have built my identity inside starts to look fundamentally different? This is not a skills gap question. It is an identity question. Leaders whose sense of professional worth is tied to being indispensable to a particular system are finding that the disruption does not stay in the building. The overdelivering pattern that built the career travels with the person into whatever comes next.
What is the difference between being indispensable and being valuable on your own terms?
Being indispensable means the organisation cannot afford to lose you in your current role. Being valuable on your own terms means your expertise, judgment and perspective belong to you regardless of the title or structure that currently recognises them. The distinction matters enormously right now. Indispensability is a position inside a system. Value on your own terms is portable. The work of separating the two is some of the most important a senior leader can do before the disruption makes it urgent.
What inner work helps senior leaders navigate career disruption with steadiness?
The leaders navigating disruption with the most steadiness are not the ones who predicted it. They are the ones who had already done the work of separating who they are from what they produce, and building a foundation that does not depend on a title to hold. This involves understanding what is driving the overdelivering pattern, clarifying where professional identity actually lives, and developing the capacity to lead from clarity rather than from the accumulated weight of being needed by a system that may be changing around them.
How do I know if my professional identity is inside the structure or underneath it?
A useful diagnostic is to write down honestly: what would I offer, and to whom, if my current title and organisation disappeared tomorrow? Write it without reference to your role or your employer. Most people find the answer more available than they expected. The expertise, the judgment, the specific way of seeing problems: these belong to the person, not the building. What often obscures this is the overdelivering pattern, which keeps attention on what is being produced rather than on who is doing the producing.
About the Author
Danguole Litvinskaite is an executive leadership coach based in Switzerland, specialising in helping exceptional and exhausted senior leaders advance without losing themselves in the process. With 14 years in investment banking across 4 countries, an ICF PCC credential, and 3,000+ executive coaching sessions, she works with senior leaders in tech, finance, consulting, and global financial institutions. Her 3-month intensive, The Integration Method, addresses the overdelivering pattern at the level where it actually lives, combining corporate strategy, leadership psychology, nervous system regulation, and career navigation. Clients include senior leaders at the largest tech companies, Big 4 firms, and global financial institutions.
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