Forget CFO, Call Me

“King of Cashola”

Adam M. Grant Daniel M. Cable Justin M. Berg

Professor of Special Sauce

Dork of Diving andDifference-Making

Meaning in Idiosyncratic Job Titles

MinnesotaMagician

Expressing identity and values linked to…

◦ Engagement (Kahn, 1990)

◦ Self-esteem (Ashforth & Kreiner, 1999)

◦ Learning (Pratt et al., 2006)

◦ Creativity (Swann et al., 2000)

◦ Adaptation to new roles (Ibarra, 1999)

◦ Coping with stress (Britt & Bliese, 2003)

◦ Psychological well-being (McGregor & Little, 1998)

◦ Organizational identification (Dutton et al., 1994)

◦ Organizational commitment (Grant et al., 2008)

◦ Meaningfulness (Bunderson & Thompson, 2009; Wrzesniewski et al., 2003)

Culture◦ Strong cultures (O’Reilly & Chatman, 1996)

◦ Low psychological safety (Kahn, 1990)

◦ Professionalism (Sanchez-Burks, 2005)

◦ Norms favoring conformity (Ely & Meyerson, 2009; Martin et al.,1998)

Practices◦ Hot desking, hotelling, temporary offices (Elsbach,

2003)

◦ Strict emotional display rules (Hochschild, 1983)

LIMITATIONSUntil you spread your

wings, you’ll have no idea how far you can walk.

Job titles

◦ Symbolic artifacts (Rafaeli & Pratt, 2006)

◦ Signal identity to coworkers, customers, friends, family members… and even first dates

◦ Often first information shared about oneself in interviews, client meetings, cocktail parties

◦ Displayed in business cards, plaques, email signatures…

◦ But virtually ignored as a source of identity, meaning, and motivation

Personalized, customized to signal unique identity

Possible starting point for…◦ Idiosyncratic deals (Rousseau, 2006)

◦ Idiosyncratic jobs (Miner, 1987)

◦ Making jobs fit (Black & Ashford, 1995)

◦ Job crafting (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001)

Chief Know-It-All

CEO of Love

Director of First Impressions

Evangelist

Grand Pooh-Bah of Gear

Upward Mobility Big Shot

Energy Focuser

Revenue Raiser

Director of Chaos

Experience Geek

You didn’t get to choose them, but how did you react?

Leader of Lift

Tender of Tensions and Twins

Symphonic Sensemaker

Crafter of Careers and Callings

Canvasser of Clandestine Creations

Purveyor of Prose and Pluck

CEO encouraged every employee to create an idiosyncratic title

◦ “The CFO, his title is King of Cashola. If you’re a fundraiser, people know you’re asking for money, so why not have it? I find that people in business love it… fun titles don’t cost you a dime. They make people smile and make you proud of it. I don’t know why people don’t do more of it… I can’t tell you how many of our families love it.”

~Fairy Godmother of Wishes

Our goals◦ Understand psychological mechanisms activated

by the idiosyncratic titles◦ Explore possible outcomes

Methods◦ 13 interviews◦ 23 hours of observation◦ 100+ archival documents

Social: rapport and

relationships

Psychological: stress and well-

being

Behavioral: motivation

Idiosyncratic Titles

Personal meaning:

Self-expressio

n

Relational meaning:

Self-verificatio

n

Meaning Mechanisms Outcomes

Bringing unique, authentic identity to work

◦ “My magical title is Lady of Laughter and Giggles, because the most meaningful and fun thing for me is to hear a child giggle. It brings me up and makes me feel good… I think it’s unique.”

◦ “These titles make them feel that they are in touch with their creative side. I think it has a positive impact on their self-esteem and who they are.”

~Outside graphic designer

Reflected appraisals of unique, authentic image

◦ “I feel special when people see the name; I love being introduced as that. It makes you feel a lot of pride and joy. It gives permission to people to have fun.”

~Minister of Dollars and Sense (COO)

◦ “The title is like, you can almost have a little superhero cape on… Most people love to hear these titles, its fun… It empowers people to have fun and to translate that fun to the community.”

~Princess of Pennies (Development Team Leader)

“With the very serious work, for staff, it makes it a very fun and desirable place to work.” ~ Oncologist and Chair, Board of Directors

The titles…◦ “Help prevent the staff from burning out”◦ “Keep things inspiring”◦ “Help you realize that although this is a severe

situation, you can still focus on the joy that is left”◦ “Lighten up the seriousness of our work”◦ “Keep everybody’s spirits up”

“It’s an icebreaker for people we meet; it opens up dialogue.” ~King of Cashola

“It makes people smile… it creates curiosity. It’s a conversation starter.” ~Royal Ambassador of Really Cool Kids

“There’s nothing better to meet someone new and say, ‘I’m a wish manager, also known as a Fairy Tale Pixie.’ It opens up conversation, ‘Oh, what does a Fairy Tale Pixie do?’ Sometimes vendors that I work with to try to get donations will see it in my email and write, “I hope your wings don’t get wet, Pixie—it’s raining it.” It gives you a little pick-me-up when you hear that; it’s fun, unexpected, and enjoyable.”

“It’s catching on wherever we go. We met with an advertising team, and they wanted fun titles too.” ~Heralder of Happy News

It’s just a reminder that… even if something might be difficult, the bottom line of our Foundation is that we’re making wishes come true… it makes the staff want to have fun, and do a good job, and work hard, and really go above and beyond… it makes us really want to come in to work.”~Heralder of Happy News

“At first, it took a little while to get used to. I came from a much more business oriented non-profit. After I got used to the title, I really appreciated it more. I enjoy the name a lot now. I’m much more excited to come into work.”~Empress of Enchanting Magic Makers

“The fun titles, some people thought that was too silly. But when they get really positive responses from cards and emails, it reinforces it.” ~Fairy Godmother of Wishes

“I was one of the ones who that that it was not a great use of our time, but in the end it, really has generated a lot of response from people, which is kind of fun. And so my attitude about it has changed. I would describe myself as the accountant type, where if some things sounds or seems silly to me, then I wouldn’t be comfortable with that. But being considered ‘Keeper of Keys and Grounds’ doesn’t sound silly to me. It gives a pretty good visual of what I do. It is actually the title of Hagrid from Harry Potter, and I love those stories, so it has a little extra meaning for me.”~Keeper of Keys and Grounds

3 field experiments◦ Testing emergent model◦ Providing employees with the opportunity to

create idiosyncratic titles

Call centers: in progress◦ 3 sites: titles, control, business cards

2 health care orgs: planning◦ Experimental and control units

Painless Patty

Prince of Pledges

The Sharpest Raiser

Baron of Bread

Gift Getting Goddess

Savvy Solicitor

Ambassador of Giving Back

Daymaker

Fundraising Ninja

I don’t take telemarketing

calls during my dinner. Can I call you back during

your dinner?

What strikes you as particularly interesting?

What challenges would you raise?

Do you see any mechanisms or outcomes that we didn’t discuss?

When and where would you expect idiosyncratic titles to fail or backfire?