The Problem with Job Titles
Job titles have always been traditionally important. They give you a quick idea of a person’s skills and responsibilities without the need for lengthy explanations.
But nowadays in the tech world, a job title alone does not say as much as it used to. Being a developer in a large, established company could mean strictly coding, while at a small startup, a developer may be expected to pitch in outside the standard programming role. And some people, bored with stale titles, have decided to have a little fun with their job description—such as everyone whose business card says they are a something-or-other guru, rock star, or ninja.
Consequently, some job titles can be less than clear. A typical role where the title, responsibilities, or both are ambiguous is “tech lead.” Many companies have people with these titles, but the role can vary so much—everything from project management to people management to enabling a company’s scalability—that there isn’t one set definition of duties.
An argument has even been made that titles are toxic. They can encourage a kind of false hierarchy of value based on how fancy a title is, and even if two employees have the same title, people are unique enough that it doesn’t mean they have the same level of skill or do the same work. It’s hard to know what a person’s value is until you spend time working with them.
The author doesn’t provide a concrete proposal for what we could use instead of titles, but he hints that there may be better ways to identify what value people bring to an organization. After all, we will still need some way to identify what people do.
This is especially true considering that granting authority without status can lead to issues. Research shows that high-power/low-status individuals are more likely to mistreat people and create unpleasant work environments due to the frustration of having influence but no respect. To combat these negative effects, managers can increase the status of those with responsibility by giving them elevated titles or acknowledging their contribution in other ways.
Establishing a career ladder is another good method of increasing job clarity. A defined career path helps employees understand that they are on the right track with their job responsibilities and that there are possibilities for growth.
While there are a number of arguments to be made both for and against job titles, titles in some form are likely to be with us for a while. If you have titles in your organization, make sure people know what responsibilities and authorities go with each title. To do less is unfair to both the people with the title and the people they work with, and it can make the workplace less pleasant—or at the very least, more confusing.
