Titles: A Division of Labor Explained

As a society, we are fascinated by titles. Some people collect them, while others regret them. Many people are annoyed by titles, and others avoid having a title. I am not much different, and I even published an article about it in USA Today Online – Leadership Beyond the Titles. CEO pay is often a subject of debate, but there is one aspect we often overlook: titles are a division of labor.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Why Titles Are a Division of Labor

People are curious why I have so many titles and I always provide the same answer:

“It’s only a title if you’re not doing the work.”

In the Army, whenever I was promoted, my authority and responsibilities increased commensurate with the promotion, as they should be. Because people are people, we do not think that way. We are intoxicated with the glitz, glamour, and glory we think accompanies whatever title we earn or choose. Titles look good from afar, but you must also live up to them.

What Titles Really Mean

In addition to the amount of work that increases, the greater the title, the greater the consequences. Always having your judgment, decision-making, and risk-taking questioned is not a CEO perk but a stressful reality of organizational and strategic leadership. Consider the underlying nuances that some titles can really mean.

CEO = Chief Everything Officer. As an officer, I was expected to know how to complete every function in my organization, which is clearly impossible. In reality, a company commander (captain-regional manager) might be able to do that with fewer functions at that level, but certainly not a CEO with a multitude of organizational requirements.

COO = Chief Obstacle Officer. Often, COOs spend an inordinate amount of time clearing obstacles between regional operational areas to clear the path to reach organizational objectives.

President = Always Present. While a president might not be expected to know everything like a CEO, they are expected to be everywhere to learn everything.

VP = Various Priorities. A good VP must know their job, the president’s job, and what the president is working on. Add to that orchestrating the harmonies of the org-level or C-level officers, and POOF: various priorities appear which must be managed.

Each of the above positions entails various amounts of stress and working in VUCA environments – volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.

In the Final Analysis

Some people wonder why they are not ‘gifted’ such lofty titles. The scriptures below may add some clarity.

“When someone has been given much, much will be required in return,” Luke 12:48 (New Living Translation Bible)

Having held the positions above and others, I speak from experience. Often, we only quote part of that bible verse, leaving out what may be the most important part:

“...and when someone has been entrusted with much, even MORE will be required.“

I bolded the entrusted and capitalized the MORE for emphasis to bring home some key points:

1. As leaders, gaining people’s trust will require more work.

2. With more work comes more responsibility.

3. Greater responsibility incurs greater obligation.

4. Greater obligation requires increased A.C.T.I.O.N.: Authenticity, Commitment, Transparency, Integrity, Objectivity, and Nerve (Courage).

So, once you receive that promotion, recognition, or title that sounds so enticing, just remember that:

More Title = More A.C.T.I.O.N.

And let’s not forget about some of the most popular and weighty titles:

Parent; spouse; sibling; friend; coworker; congregant.

So, how much work does your title entail?

Are you doing the work or just carrying the title?

(Parts of this blog were previously printed. Copyright 2018, MyWingman, LLC)