Is Your Title Holding You Back?

Throughout the years of working at the same organization for several years I was promoted.  Promoted 9 times to be exact. With each promotion I was given a new title, a new salary and new expectations for my performance.  And the majority of the time, I exceeded those requirements and the company rewarded me.

But the one thing I really wanted was the coveted title of a Director.  In my lens…that was the only thing missing from a somewhat perfect career (or so I had thought at the time).  I had it that the title would change everything for me. I would gain people’s:

• Respect!

• Buy in

• Support

Even possibly a sense of community being at that level. 

Throughout the years I was told countless times how the work I was doing was a Directors level work.  So much so, that I was even getting paid a Directors level salary…but that darn title…nope. As much as my leader even pushed in his capacity for me to be promoted…it wouldn’t be pushed through.  

The organization and my leader trusted me to do the work, trusted me to lead and grow my team, trusted my decision making skills, trusted me to not only meet their expectations but exceed them, heck even trusted me to run a multi-million dollar area of the business.  

The funny thing about this whole scenario is not one person I interacted with outside the organization gave a crap about my title.  They knew based on

• How I worked with them

• How I lead my team

• How I made decisions

• How I created relationships with them

• Etc.

That I was the “go to” person.  The person that would be leading the conversation and regardless of the title, making the final decisions.  

After doing a ton of work on myself (hello life coaching), I realized that the only person that cared about my title was me.  It wasn’t my team, it wasn’t the people I was working with or even those that I just me. It was my lens.  

I was the one that was insecure about how people were viewing me!  Not them!

And after shifting my lens, I no longer was concerned with my title, it didn’t matter.  What mattered was

• Who I was being as a leader for my team!

• Who I was being as a leader for my peers!

• Creating work that made an impact and mattered!

And that…is the most rewarding gift.  Your title…doesn’t make a darn difference…it’s YOU who is making the difference!