Lately, through various business contacts, I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon. The higher the position in the hierarchy, the greater the distance some people maintain toward others. The tone becomes colder. Conversations are shorter. The gaze is often condescending. It’s as if a title grants the right to treat people differently.
But time always reveals one thing: a position is only temporary. An organization can give it to you. But it can also take it away much faster than you think. The way we’ve acted remains part of the experience of the people who’ve worked with us. In my work, I’ve met people who lead massive organizations yet speak to everyone with the same calm and normal manner.
I’ve also met those who, as soon as they gain a little power, start building a wall between themselves and the rest of the world. The paradox is interesting. The greater the leader, the less need they usually have to prove their importance. True authority doesn’t come from a title, an office, or a place in the organizational chart.
It comes from how you treat people who can do nothing for you. At the end of your career, people rarely recall your titles. But they remember very well how you behaved while you held them. A high-ranking position does not justify a cold and humiliating attitude.
Responsibility doesn’t stop with the numbers.
It also encompasses the way we expect people to achieve those results.
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