Leading, no matter the title

Over the past two weeks, we have challenged ourselves to look at the evolution of our leadership journeys. Specifically, last week, we reflected on what we now recognise as opportunities disguised as chance meetings, or lucky breaks.

This week, we continue with our series and reflect on how current trends in leadership have evolved. William Shakespeare famously asked in the play Romeo and Juliet, “What is in a name?” concluding that a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.

So, as a leader today, I have been asking myself if this adage still holds true. In this day of global social movements, one cannot help but reflect on the question, “What is in a title?” Does it still hold the same attraction to the workforce as it did in the past?

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once stated, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” By this, he articulated what many leaders have come to learn. When you are in a position of leadership within your organisation, a much heavier burden of responsibility will fall upon you.  

So, what happens when you have the responsibility without the title? I have found that, in international organisations and businesses, where team leaders have dispersed the responsibility of their globally or regionally located, the inverse is true.

When invited to sit on interview panels, I see first-hand the changes overtime in the types of questions asked and the expectations upon those who are being scoped for leadership positions. 

For so long, the expectation was that a leader would be the one leading from the front with the team behind them. It was all about position and title. This trend is changing. With the new workforce, the exceptional leader is one who leads from behind. A good leader has identified exceptional talent and nurtured it to raise others within their team. For the new generation workforce, with hybrid, multi locational teams, leadership is not about position but about accountability. 

During my own leadership journey, I started as a manager in a department with a team of four people who sat on the same floor. I had an office with the title on the door and even had business cards! As I moved to a regional role, I sat in one country and managed a team of nine located in different countries with a matrix reporting relationship shared with the key leads in their respective countries. 

My ‘office’ was at home or at a desk in the office where I happened to be at the time. As a team, we met twice a year as part of our team-building and department planning. There was no doubt that I was the team leader, but my title was a regional “advisor”. 

As I moved into global roles, leadership evolved into accountability. My team was globally dispersed but there was no doubt in my mind, that when it came to it, I still had accountability for agreed deliverables. I had learned to lead from behind. Today, my leadership is all about influence. It requires influencing upwards, across the aisle and those who are in my team.

Some of my mentees ask me, “Is it okay for me to still want the position with the title?” I don’t know what others may think, but my response would be yes, it is. Last month, we spoke about the importance of self-awareness as a critical element in your leadership journey. 

As you evolve, the more you know about yourself, the more important it will become in relation to identifying the right organisation/company and role for you. If you have not done so yet or more than five years have passed since you last did one, I highly encourage you to add this onto your to-do list. 

My challenge to you this week, as you position yourself within the company, look at the title of the role you are aspiring to or already have and ask yourself, did you get stuck on pursuing the title along the journey? In the event that you did, ask what can you do to get unstuck?

Elizabeth Kangwagye is a transformational leadership coach and trainer. [email protected]   Instagram: @elizabethkangwagye