My wife is a fan of cooking-based shows and one of her favorite hosts is Guy Fieri. I like his style and his approach to interviewing. One thing I always notice is that Guy addresses everyone he speaks to as “chef”. Not being educated in the culinary arts, I thought a chef was formally trained and went to school for cooking. I thought it was a formal title, not a symbolic title.
I was surprised to learn that a chef “is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine.” No mention of formal training, just focused on “proficiency.” A title based around proficiency is something this leader can wrap his brain around!
I often talk about the fact that there is “leadership at all levels”, but for some reason we don’t address each other as “leaders”. In most companies you hear about the “leadership team”, but while I appreciate leadership at the highest levels, I believe this puts the title of “leader” above all other people. We need to change this!
Just like the “chefs” of the world, I think leaders need to claim our title as well. A culture that embraces the title of “leader” promotes inclusion and self-worth. It recognizes the people who step up and choose to make a difference.
So, how can we as leaders claim our rightful title?
– Address our teams as leaders (we have a meeting of the BD leaders today)
– Introduce our people using the title of leader (this is Sally, our sales leader for North America)
– Incorporate the word leader into our everyday vocabulary to distinguish notable acts, not assigned job descriptions
The bottom line; if we truly embrace “leadership at all levels”, we need to use the title for our leaders.