And what’s up
with the tricksy job titles? CIO might mean Chief Information Officer… or it
could stand for Chief Inspiration Officer. CFO may equal Chief Financial
Officer... or it could mean Chief Fun Officer. Other unusual job titles I’ve seen
recently include “genius” (honestly, Apple stores have these), chief ninja, and
chief happiness officer.
It has been
said that titles are cheap. Managers often fall into the trap of granting
someone a bump up in title in lieu of a raise. “It’ll look good on your résumé”,
they say. Companies then become clogged with marshmallowy layers of managers,
assistant managers, senior managers, deputy managers… the list goes on.
In reality,
however, these so-called managers all pretty much do the same thing. But what
they don’t reduce is the bureaucracy; nothing gets done. Instead, these
managers are too busy jostling for a spot on the corporate ladder and meetings
multiply like bunnies. A plethora of titles destroy the potential for corporate
accomplishment.
Titles by
themselves are worthless, unless accompanied by a set of more challenging
accountabilities and the relevant
authorities to get the work done. What employees want is good, meaningful work
at a fair level of pay. Real meaty roles release energy and increase learning, confidence
and self-worth. Give this to your employees. Don’t just toss them meaningless
titles.
