Sometimes, it starts with good intentions. A leader wants to motivate someone, quietly line up a successor, or smooth over a broken structure without alerting others, so they reach for the easiest tool at hand: the job title.
Suddenly, someone becomes a “Senior Manager” even though their responsibilities are no more senior than those of a junior manager. Or a “Project Lead” appears out of nowhere, without a project or a team to lead. A new “Advisor” is born, mostly to make them feel more important while you figure out what to do with them. It might feel harmless. Even kind. But it’s not.
Because everyone sees through it.
Titles are shorthand. They communicate decision-making power, authority, and structure. When those things aren’t there, but the title is, people know. They know this wasn’t about role clarity or growth. It was about politics. Or ego. Or panic. And the moment that title is spoken aloud, your secret intention becomes an open secret.
The result? Confusion spreads. Trust erodes. And the very people you hoped to motivate start quietly updating their LinkedIn profiles. Not because of the title itself, but because it signalled something far more profound: that the organisation isn’t being straight with its people.
Disingenuous cultures don’t survive long. They burn out the best people and blur the lines of responsibility. Teams don’t know who’s accountable. Managers don’t know who’s being groomed for what. And the quiet majority stop asking questions because they’ve stopped expecting honest answers.
What leaders often forget is that nothing stays hidden for long inside an organisation. Office culture is a living thing, and titles are one of its visible signals. When they don’t line up with reality, people notice. Quickly. The whisper network lights up. Peers compare notes. And before you know it, your clever workaround is being discussed in side chats and private coffee catchups.
The problem isn’t the ambition behind the move. It’s the avoidance. There are better ways to handle complexity. It’s OK to say, “We’re still working out our structure.” Or, “This isn’t a promotion, but I see potential and want to give you stretch opportunities.” People don’t need flattery to feel valued. They need clarity. They need the truth.
Titles should reflect reality, not fantasy. When they do, people know where they stand, who they answer to, and what their future might look like. When they don’t, they become a trap for the leader, the individual, and the culture.
So ask yourself: am I solving the issue, or just renaming it?
by CHRIS HARRISON
