What's in a Job Title?

I can’t be the only one to have noticed how zany job titles are becoming these days. Surely the ‘job’ of the job title is to serve as a universally recognised shorthand? It is there to make it easy for outsiders to quickly recognise the position, skills, and responsibilities someone possesses? Project Manager. Auditor. Sales Executive. All easily understood examples which, until lately, were ubiquitous to LinkedIn and business cards.

But all this is changing. We now have Data Storage Specialists (administrators), Chief Imagination Officers (designers) and Commercial Opportunity Hunters (salespeople). Even the guy balancing precariously on a ladder outside, chammy-in-hand, is getting in on the act. The bill he has pushed through the door (cash only, obviously) is written on paper titled Transparency Enhancement Officer. You’d think someone with such a futuristic title would accept crypto-currency by now. Or at the very least, contactless!

But the purpose of job titles is not just to communicate someone’s role to people outside an organisation. They also serve to enhance a person’s perception of themselves. They feel more professional, and as a result, act more professionally. This can only be good thing for effort and performance. In contrast to retail assistant, presenting yourself as a Genius must work wonders for your self-confidence. Not to mention the confidence that is instilled in customers too. As a strategy, it’s…genius.

Interestingly, there is a growing recognition that the influence of the now ‘not-so-humble’ job title goes deeper. Not only can titles elevate a staff member’s status, they can increase their psychological wellbeing too. 

Dan Cable, a professor at London Business School, once invited nurses and doctors to come up with novel and creative titles for themselves. Infectious Disease Specialists became Germ Slayers; radiologists rebranded themselves Bone Seekers; you get the idea. Five weeks later those using these novel titles reported coping better with the emotional exhaustion and pressures that accompanied their role. They felt more valued for their work too. It’s a brilliantly cost-effective strategy. Increased job satisfaction, heightened motivation and improved productivity usually come with a price tag significantly greater than a simple change in title. 

But don’t reach for a pen and paper and start listing suitably inventive new titles for your team members just yet. It seems that people are happiest when they are allowed to come up with their own titles. It leads to a greater feeling of connection to their job and their organisation. Allowing people to craft their own job titles also increases endowment and squares with the current trend for greater autonomy at work. 

That’s not to say giving employees the power to create their own job titles shouldn’t be managed. Your team of Commercial Opportunity Hunters might well experience a boost in confidence and focus by relabelling themselves Sales Ninjas; but titles still need to have some semblance of credibility and alignment to your company culture. And they shouldn’t be silly either. Which reminds me, my Transparency Enhancement Officer needs paying and I have to find some cash. 

Some things are never likely to change.