Career Management and Wise Leadership!
By Dilip Saraf on 20 Nov 2013
During their long careers clients often come to me when their role is suddenly changed to a “lesser sounding” title and ask me to tell them how to deal with this “demotion.” In their case this change has happened involuntarily. Sometimes, too, different companies have titles that are inflated to begin with, and when changing jobs into a different industry that title is difficult to carry. For example, most US banks have several vice presidents even in a small branch, yet when these professionals break into the industry outside theirs they face an identity crisis. Their new job may even have more responsibility, span of control, and more exciting leadership challenges. Yet some feel cheated out of their title when making this change. On its flip side Ross Perot at EDS used to freely give titles people wanted instead of big salaries. He argued that imposing job titles did not cost him anything, but big pay packages did!
What most do not recognize is that job titles are an artificial—if not entirely arbitrary-- positions created to conform to the existing taxonomy of job families within a company and the industry in which it operates. So, beyond the company’s—and the industry’s-- influence these titles are not very meaningful, even though they may sound imposing to someone looking at them from the outside. What really matters is the role and responsibility in a position regardless of the title. For example, a commonly used title of a program manager can have a broad range of implications across different industries and even for companies within one industry.
At a software company, for example, a program manager can be responsible for releasing a product in a few months with a handful of developers and QA people working on it. Whereas at an aerospace company such as Boeing a program manager can have several thousand highly skilled professionals working on a new Dreamliner, which costs billions of dollars and takes a dozen years to complete before it gets into mass production.
The problem most face when confronted with such changes in their job titles is that they tie their professional identity with their current title. Of course, it is much easier to impress those around you with a fancy title your job carries, but what should matter more to you is what you get to do in your job and what your leadership role is in that job, regardless of the title bestowed on you. This is difficult for most people, but the reality of today requires everyone to look at their career as a means of creating meaningful value in every role, regardless of the title that goes with it.
In their book, From Smart to Wise, http://amzn.to/11F8xta Prasad Kaipa and Navi Radjou show how wise leaders focus on their leadership responsibilities, whereas smart leaders get troubled by their “station” in life and focus on titles. They site examples of CEOs, who have taken different—and “lesser” roles—when time was right for them to do so in the interest of their organization and business. What the authors emphasize is that wise leaders focus on their value contribution, growth, and for the greater good of the organization and the ecosystem that its supports.
So, when the next time you suddenly face a situation where your title has gone “down” a notch or two consider the following:
1. Will the new role allow me to continue to grow with my new responsibilities? If the answer is yes, then you have not compromised your identity, but merely have adjusted to a new reality that will protect you and your career in the long run.
2. Will the value I get to create in my new role benefit my organization in a positive way? Will the compensation I receive in return commensurate with that value. Some companies do not even re-size an employee’s compensation when they are moved to a position where their new title reflects a “lower” designation.
3. Will my résumé showcase exciting and more compelling story with my new role than if I continued in my current role with nothing new to add to my current résumé other than just the number of years in the same role?
4. Will I get a chance to grow in a new direction with my re-assigned role that I did not have in my previous role?
5. Will I build new momentum in my new role to allow me to market myself better in today’s changing market?
These are more important questions to answer before you decide that the changed title has scuttled your otherwise stellar career. In fact, if you are looking out for your own career welfare, you may want to volunteer for a changed role—and title—exactly for the same reasons by showing your wise leadership in managing your own career!
Good luck!
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