Strive for Influence

There is a growing and puzzling trend occurring in the workforce. Young workers are taking lower compensation in exchange for the “Right” title. Enamored with “instant branding”, young candidates are willing to earn tens of thousands of dollars less as long as they are able to secure their desired title. It appears that these workers believe that title grants status and status has become the currency by which many measure success.

The Problem

The idea that you can be a leader by simply having the title leader is troubling. Even more troubling are candidates willingness to trade compensation or experience in pursuit of this fallacy. It reminds me of the Hans Christian Andersen classic “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. In this famous tale, a vain emperor is swindled into purchasing “invisible” clothes that he proudly where’s around town. Of course there is no such thing as invisible clothes, and the emperor proceeds to prance around town naked.

Unearned titles are a lie that cultivates persona’s rather than character and skills. They are a charade that leaves the individual without real growth and only willing to accept positions of status they are unqualified to fill. Like the emperor in Andersen’s story, those who tread this path are ultimately faced with nakedness. This collision of reality and expectation contributes to many of the mental health issues seen today and limits an individual’s potential for true growth.

Why is this happening?

It is all about the culture we create! From the time they are young we push individuals to seek success in everything they do, and often times give it to them unearned. We label truth as uncaring and evil, instead of opportunity for understanding and growth. We rob people of the ability to persevere by sheltering them from consequence and failure. These are the current and predominant cultural norms and they are problematic.

These norms leave no room for insight, truth, or growth. They create conflict between the person we are “supposed” to be and the person that we are. They result in a burgeoning workforce who care more about title than about meaning and are unsure what to do when they fail. We have created a people that think they are clothed when they are naked, and enter the world believing they are something they are not.

What can be done?

Tell the Truth: Be honest with those who you lead and mentor, this includes your children. You cannot improve if you are perfect. Be willing to gracefully identify and acknowledge weakness as it is the only way to begin growth. Although critical, this is not easy, and there will be times when the reaction is severe. Be diligent, compassionate, and caring in your delivery. It will take time for some to get used to.

“Truth never damages a cause that is just.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Embrace failure: Allow and encouraged fearlessness in the face of failure. Promote learning when failure occurs and see failure as a means to success.

“Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be”
– John Wooden

Seek Influence: Seek to influence by your example, your work ethic, your wisdom, your patience, your honesty, your humility, your sacrifice, and not your title. You will find that the true leader never wonders if he or she is really a leader and rarely does it for themselves.

In closing I would like to leave you with a quote from an excellent book I finished a few months ago:

“From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes.”

~ Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure