Your Job Title Is Your Problem

For years, I wore my job title like a badge of honor. Associate. Manager. Director. Vice President. Executive. The higher the title, the more I thought it meant.

And when I introduced myself outside of work, I leaned on it: “I’m the Sr. Manager/Director/VP/EVP of…”

But here’s what I discovered:

• Most people outside the company didn’t know what that meant in terms of value or purpose.

• Many people inside didn’t either.

That’s when it hit me: my job title is the problem.

I started introducing myself differently—not with my position, but with my purpose.

Instead of saying “I’m the VP of ___”, I began saying: “I impact public policy so people have access to the products they need, when they need them.”

Every time I shared this, the response was different. People understood. They leaned in. They asked engaging questions. They wanted to know more.

Suddenly, I transcended the org chart and became a person with a mission.

Titles aren’t meaningless—they have their place. But they often get in the way of connecting with people:

1. Titles create distance. They reinforce hierarchy rather than human connection.

2. Titles confuse. “Executive Director” or “VP” rarely communicates what we actually do.

3. Titles shrink you. They reduce our identity to a position, not our purpose.

   
   

If we want to connect with people, let's reconsider the title-first approach and lead with our:

1. Impact. What results are we trying to produce?

2. Audience. Who benefits from our work?

3. Why. Why does our work matter to us?

   
   

That’s what people connect with.

Closing Thought

Our job title may impress a few people in the org chart, but it rarely translates to outsiders. If we want to influence, inspire, and connect, we should lead with our purpose, not our position.

If you couldn’t use your job title, how would you introduce yourself?