Vanity Cards v. Corridor Voices

Walk into enough offices and workplaces and you’ll notice shinier name badges and sillier job titles. There are ‘Chief Growth Evangelists’ (head of sales) and ‘Directors of First Impressions’ (what’s wrong with receptionist?). Even some tech departments are in on the act, calling themselves ‘Digital Doctors’. Maybe this last example was the output of a workshop to conjure up ideas that boost egos and make software updates seem sexy. Who knows?

On the surface there are few downsides to title inflation. Managers like them because, unlike wages, label upgrades cost nothing. No surprise they are ubiquitous. The practice would also be harmless if job titles did what they were supposed to. Namely, act as a universal shorthand that helps others understand a workers role, remit, and seniority. But titles frequently fail on these measures. Many simply provide a cheap dopamine hit for the person holding the card. The badge says less about what they do, and more about who they want others to think they are.

Things are worse for companies that expanded middle-management layers to “embrace hybridity” (I know!) during the pandemic but have not since reset them. An obvious implication is more people possess titles that ‘lead’ something. When everyone sounds senior, the risk is that seniority stops sounding…well…senior.

Others report how title proliferation and the resulting obscuring of accountability have led to unwelcome consequences. A 2024 survey cited one start-up that “up titled” their Product Manager roles to ‘Chief Product Owners’. Outsiders, perhaps understandably, assumed these chiefs had a company-wide mandate. The reality, though, were clients and external partners finding it nearly impossible to speak to the right person. Lengthened sales cycles, delayed orders and increased complaints resulted. Maybe title inflation isn’t costless after all.

Titles matter. But introductions matter more.

There’s no doubt that titles can boost people’s sense of self. But introductions matter more. When doctors at Sutter Health, a California based health provider, started introducing the expertise of their diabetes nurses to patients in advance of routine healthcare checks something helpful happened. Patients were much more likely to show up to future appointments leading to a welcome reduction in costly no-shows. These same patients reported higher levels of confidence and satisfaction in the nurses. Net promoter scores, a measure beloved by managers, rose too.

When people have their legitimate experience and expertise introduced before they speak, audiences tend to listen more and staff performance can measurably rise. Introducing a diabetes nurse as “a professional with advanced training and over a decade of experience” positions their competence; something a shiny name badge and quirky title will struggle to achieve. Finding ways to vouch for your people seems important.

Many workplaces squander this insight. Business meetings offer a familiar and telling example. Self-introductions around the table or in the case of virtual gatherings a Teams gallery, are anxiety-inducing and inefficient. They are also futile. Nobody is listening because people are spending the time rehearsing in their head what they’ll say when their turn comes.

The fix is simple. The leader or meeting host should introduce everyone, adding a brief explanation of the experience and value that each attendee brings. And if they can’t think of something relevant to say about an attendee then they should do themselves and everyone else a favour and not waste time inviting them.

The opportunity for organisations is in prioritising expert introductions over inflated titles. Influence is not about the impressiveness or zaniness of a teams’ e-mail signature or business card, but rather on what is said about them before they speak. Eliminate self-introductions at meetings and replace them with the meeting host introducing attendees. Short, two sentence biographies that include cues of skills and capabilities should be included in meeting agendas.

And when meetings take place on Zoom or Teams include qualifications in the aston (the black bar below a face that contains an individual’s name). One study during lockdown found financial advisors who included their legitimate qualifications (CFP, APFS, etc.) alongside their name during online consultations reported an increase in follow-up appointments and referrals from their clients. When to comes to deciding the best place to invest that recent inheritance from Auntie Elsie, would you rather follow the guidance of William Bronwyn-Smythe, Dip. FA., or the advice of Billy B.S., Lead Sherpa and Guardian of Tax-Efficient Tomorrows?

Job titles might boost egos, but it’s introductions and cues of expertise that influence change. Organisations that introduce their people as legitimate experts might find they are more inclined to perform that way. Assuming your people have something worth saying—the task of influential leaders is to provide them with a productive platform to say it from.

Steve Martin is a Royal Society-nominated author and leading voice on the psychology of influence, persuasion and change. He is Chief Executive Officer of Influence at Work and a Faculty Director at Columbia Business School, Executive Education.