Why titles matter and why they don’t
Titles in business are a funny thing. People will often say titles don’t really matter, but I suppose the better way to say it is that titles don’t matter until they do.
Titles have a place. They communicate to those inside and outside the company who is responsible for what. They help steer the direction and escalation of an organization, and ultimately we all need to know where decisions need to happen.
While titles are necessary in businesses, they don’t always tell the real story of influence, leadership and effort. When it comes to executing well, leadership teams often come together and the titles are less meaningful than the people involved in making something happen. It goes beyond that because there are always people inside organizations with titles that might be considered less important, yet it’s those same people pulling the weight, making a significant impact or simply creating value, all because they love the company and their work and don’t really care what their email signature says.
Consider
Titles are important and we need them. We also need to ensure that we’re living up to the expectations of the titles we hold, but they don’t define us – who we are and how we live supersedes any title.
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