364. Job titles don’t really matter, managers are always observing even if you don’t think they are

Chapters

• 1:03 Personal bankruptcy update
• 1:38 Unexpected company restructuring news
• 3:34 The importance of clear management communication
• 5:07 Why job titles don't really matter
• 7:43 Documenting work for smoother transitions
• 10:14 Embracing the new role

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:32

Hey, happy Tuesday. So the past few days have been kind of a whirlwind. So at the gym we found out, as you heard in the last episode, that it looks like we'll qualify for Chapter 7. Basically, the losses for the gym are really big and it settles out that it makes sense because we have practically we have like practically no debt on our personal finances. We have a massive amount of debt for the business and so it all settles out that we'll get seven. So that's a big win.

Speaker 1: 1:03

And then yesterday, monday, get an email at like I don't know, 12 o'clock. It's like hey, everyone. And for the day job hey everyone, hope you're doing. Well, there's going to be some changes to the the organization. Folks who have been laid off have been notified. Uh, everyone on this email will be getting an update this afternoon about what things are going to be looking like for like different teams, different company structure, all that so postponed.

Speaker 1: 1:31

And then I get an email like for an invite a half hour later to catch up with my manager and my director, so my manager's boss. Normally that means layoffs, so I now have 30 minutes to sit there and like hang tight, working at home Like all right, well, what's done is done. They said they notified people beforehand, so hopefully that's true. I don't know if I'm getting a promotion, a demotion Like what are we doing here? So now I get to sit here and wait for a half hour because I can't mentally think about working because I'm completely distracted by tech, org and who's still here, who's not here and all that stuff. And so I talked with my wife and said, all right, well, we're just going to hang tight, we're going to pray quick and just realize if I get to stay, then I don't need to worry, and if they've already made a decision to let me go, then I can't do anything to save that, so I don't need to worry about it. So it just hung tight, had the meeting and basically they said hey, you know, sorry for the last minute and I just wanted to give you a heads up before the email comes out. We're shifting you to a different team. So I've been working with the monetization how do we get revenue for the business? And they're shifting me over to the customer retention side of things. So people that are currently registered, whatever, how do we keep them engaged, keep them plugged in and involved with the product that we're giving away for free. So I'm like cool, I can do that. Happy to be here. Love working with you guys. Obviously a little bit scary when there's a last minute catch up, so this is the best news I can possibly hear. I'm here for it, happy to be here. I'll get rocking and rolling tomorrow. When then, everything's announced and I'm 10 out of 10 committed to staying plugged in and engaged, let's go. So that was good.

Speaker 1: 3:16

So a big nervousness and then a big surprise and just realizing so now, today, all that to say, all the job titles are updated. Everyone had like a unique job title to an extent. So now everyone has like more homogenous, consistent job titles. So my title is now slightly different. It's not as fancy on paper, but it's more consistent across the company. So, just so.

Speaker 1: 3:42

Reason I bring all that up is when giving like updates and meetings with people, it's good to give them a heads up. If there's nothing to worry about, saying like hey, don't want you to worry, just wanted to give you an update before everyone else did. You're fine, no worries, I want to give you that courtesy insider scoop before other people do. It's all good, just so that people are going to pull themselves out of that fight or flight brain that they're going to fall into pretty easily, and so that's just a tip I have. If you're a manager or an owner, it helps keep your people at bay and it helps keep morale high. Unless it is bad news, then you don't want to give them a heads up and then just surprise them, because people don't need to fester or not fester, people need to sit tight in their anxiousness. If you're going to give them bad news, just do it quick. That, as well as job titles, don't really matter.

Speaker 1: 4:36

So at the business or at the day job, at the day job, on paper it looks like I took a job I used to have like a title like senior contributor, and now my title is like contributor level two and like for what it is like the tech world, like senior is always a little fancier, a little more bougie than if you're like a contributor level two, and so right now like it's tempting to think, oh man, I got a demotion, my title isn't as appealing, recruiters are not going to see me as highly a desirable candidate and so my comp on the marketplace might be down. In reality, I don't know if I did get a sideways title like it's the same or if I got a demotion. I honestly don't know. It doesn't really matter if my day-to-day work is the same. Day-to-day work is the same, um, but and so at the business, if someone did get a more generic job title for the business, it doesn't matter, cause I'm looking at like who's contributing, who's selling, who's keeping morale high, who's like doing good work, and then I want to change their title to match what they're doing. So the title is always the second thing before the work that they're doing. And at the day job on the other side, I'm like, oh, I want the fancy title, I want the recognition, I want to look fancier and more appealing than than I look on paper now. So just realizing, like from the business owner perspective, do your best, the job title will catch up If you're outperforming, you're out hustling, you're doing more than you're asked.

Speaker 1: 6:09

People notice, people are watching and they're like writing stuff. There's an episode in the Office where, like, robert California is writing down notes on like who's doing this, who's doing that, who's like putting in the extra work, and like, people notice, people are writing things down, they're watching work and people notice, people are writing things down, they're watching. You may not know. You may not see that they're writing things down, but they're doing it. They're always trying to figure out stuff. That's six months down the road. Who's going to be on the A team, who's going to be on the B team, who's going to be on my whatever? So don't worry about if your work is not being observed. It is, and if it's not then your manager is not very competent. So don't worry about if your work is not being observed. It is, and if it's not then your manager is not very competent. So don't worry about that. Um, my wife and I had driven back from a doctor's appointment for our little one and she just passed me. So I'm now smiling. Uh, so that's just it. Don't worry if you don't think someone's watching you the managers that are our creators, our visionaries, our planners and movers and shakers. They're watching. If the company is going nowhere and things are flat there, then you don't need to worry about it, because you'll probably get plucked out of your role and hired elsewhere. So, anyhow, just interesting mindsets.

Speaker 1: 7:24

As an owner, I don't care about job titles. I really don't. I just want to make. I only lean on job titles. If something needs to happen and it's not happening. I then look at who is the most senior person on that squad and are they doing their job? Okay, if they are, then the person below them are they doing their job? Okay, they're not, then that person is the one in trouble quote unquote in trouble or they need to get cut up to speed and at the day job it's. I'll just keep doing my best. So today it's going to be a lot of something that I am really happy that I have done and I would recommend this to employees Keep track of the projects you've worked on, the bookmarks on your browser, the things that you've saved off to the side.

Speaker 1: 8:11

When a transition like this happens, it's easier for you and the next person if you can just share a bunch of links with people and they can easily pick up what you've worked on.

Speaker 1: 8:22

It makes the organization faster, more nimble and it makes you look more competent because you've stayed organized.

Speaker 1: 8:28

If it now takes like a month to transition all of your stuff over to somebody else, it looks like you're not a team player and you don't know how you've kept yourself together.

Speaker 1: 8:38

So that's the optics, that's what it looks like and I've, whenever I've completed a project, I've always like put it all the links and relevant info in a side document that's easily shareable. So now I just share a link to that document and the person that takes over all my work can now, like, see everything, and they don't need to ask for permissions or whatever. It's very quick, very smooth, and now, as I'm getting onboarded to somebody else's work, I'll get to see how they've stayed organized, and the less organized they have been, the more effort it's going to take to get me up to speed. And so just a pro tip yes, it does mean layoffs are smoother for the employer, but are they really going to lay you off if you're? Are they going to lay you off as easily or as excitedly if that's even the right word if you've had the goal of keeping your peers up to speed?

Speaker 1: 9:33

My hunch is no. I could be wrong, and so just set yourself up for success. Make your life easier so that in the future you'll be thanking yourself for what you're doing today. So, with that being said, I'm on a new team. 30% of my role is completely brand new. I don't know what I'm doing, 70% are skills and tech that I have knowledge of, and so it's like I just got hired to a new role and I kind of know what's going on. So that's where we're at, that's where we're going. Let's rock and roll.