Our organizations confer titles upon us:
Chief ____.
Senior ______.
Director of ______.
____ Manager
____ Associate
Etc.
I often say to work colleagues, “Thanks for your professionalism” out of a desire to see professionalism be our high standard.
What title do you take for yourself? Especially, what’s your REAL means of contributing?
It may depend on context. Most of us have multiple roles – parent, spouse, chief lawn mower or garbage-taker-outer, etc., but these aren’t always titles.
Megan Macedo writes: “[N]aming ourselves and our work is an important, powerful part of the whole process. I am a firm believer that we must first and foremost use the language that means something to us, before we ever think about how the outside world may understand – or misunderstand – it. But I do not claim it to be an easy thing to do.”
Accept the mantle of title(s) conferred on you as a leader, but don’t let that be the only possible name for yourself. Those titles will evaporate into history long before you do.
