You can be the captain of a tiny rowboat, you can be first mate on a sailboat, or you can be part of the crew on a yacht. Which thing matters to you?
There’s not really a right or wrong answer here, but it IS important that you know what question you’re asking. Because some people don’t want to be “just crew,” even when their actual goal is getting to the destination quickly and safely.
I’ve seen this happen plenty of times, professionally. Someone is currently a VP at their company, and they’ve been offered a role as a mid-level manager at a different company. They balk, almost insulted. Nevermind the fact that the new company is a hundred times the size of their current boutique firm and the salary is double what they’re making now. No, gotta have that title.
Titles have their value, of course. But that value translates exactly two ways:
- As a way of broadcasting the value of your contributions so you get more opportunities to do increasingly important/valuable work for increasing rewards.
- Status games.
People get so hung up on Number 2 that they forget why it matters in the first place. Titles are a ladder. And you don’t climb a ladder just to stand on the higher rungs. You climb a ladder to reach something. If that thing is within reach, the ladder has done its job! Get the thing, don’t keep climbing right on past it.
You want to be captain of a tiny rowboat when it’s important that you demonstrate to others that you can competently captain a ship of any size… so that you can eventually captain larger ones. If you’re just trying to get to the opposite shore, get on the best boat, no matter what they call you.
(And yes, there’s absolutely value in “going your own way” and some people would rather take the rowboat for that reason… but if you’re going your own way, that’s not really about what you’re called, is it? You can call yourself Emperor Poseidon of The Seven Seas at that point!)
The Opportunity Machine 