Why Titles Will Kill Your Startup
You need to leave room for growth — even at the top
Job titles make a lot of sense within a decades-old, GE-style hierarchy. But in a world where “product manager” means seven different things at seven different organizations, and where the number of self-employed U.S. workers could triple to 42 million people by 2020, job titles can create more confusion than clarification.
Without clear value and meaning, titles are outmoded markers of status that emphasize superficial distinctions among employees and encourage them to fixate on the next promotion. In startups, where teams are in the business of building something from scratch, titles can be downright toxic. They appeal to the ego and our sense of possibility, encouraging candidates to take a leap into joining a risky venture. This is why venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (also called a16z) encourages startup founders to give out titles: Employees want them, and they are virtually free.
The problem is they aren’t. They serve as a ball and chain that encourages people to act the way a “VP of business development” would act rather than taking on whatever initiative a startup needs to reach its next milestone.
No one gets out of bed in the morning, looks in the mirror, and thinks…
