Leadership Lessons from Sneetches
“Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches had bellies with stars.
The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars.
Those stars weren’t so big. They were really so small.
You might think such a thing wouldn’t matter at all.”
-Dr. Seuss
Table of Contents
Are titles the Star-Belly Sneetches of your organization?
Titles are stupid. Most leaders realize that titles are dumb, but we need them to operate in the business. How else would you get introduced at presentations or conferences if you didn't have some sort of random title?
What frightens me is when the leadership of an organization takes titles SERIOUSLY. They judge the quality and creativity of the work not based on the product but the title of the employee. Projects are assigned not based on who is BEST qualified to do the work but who has the most senior title.
So what happens when the Star-belly Sneetches run the place and the Sneetches with no stars on thars get ignored?
Groupthink
The beauty of hiring new people is that they bring new ideas and life into an organization! The new person has a fresh perspective and other life experiences that benefit the organization. After all, that's WHY the manager hired the new guy! However if a leader only surrounds him/herself with the old guard and values their ideas above all others, they only get their own opinion reinforced. New ideas are forced out and bad decision get made.
Morale Killer
Do you know what happened to the Sneetches? The regular Sneetches HATED the Star-belly Sneetches. The same thing happens when the senior level members of a team are treated like gods while everyone else is sub-par. Nothing ruins morale on a team like one group despising each other. But it sure can make team meetings fun!
Quitting Sneetches
That's right those Sneetches pack up their cubicle and find a job at a competitor who will listen to their ideas. There is nothing worse for any relationship when you don't feel listened to or when opinions are not valued. People break up long term relationships for the same reasons. If the manager is a Star-belly lover, then expect to get dumped by the new employee soon.
Titles don't matter. Seniority doesn't matter.
Experience matters. Creativity matters.
The difference between the Star-bellied Sneetches and those with titles, is that the Sneetches were born that way. They hadn’t done anything to earn their differences.
Sometimes titles are rewards for hard work, sacrifice and experience(doctor, for instance). The problem is when those with titles get arrogant, and believe that their ideas are the only important ones. I hate that!
Titles don’t make leaders, but there are times when leaders have led so succesfully that a title is deserved. Both Sneetches and Star-bellied Sneetches need to show respect to each other in spite of, and because of, their differences.
That is true Jackie, but then Sylvester McMonkey McBean comes along and gives them all stars and then no stars and then stars again. Really this sentence has no point other than I really wanted to type Sylvester McMonkey McBean.
Some titles are earned and sometimes they are earned because of seniority. I’ve seen in organizations the title being held as sacrosanct and those without titles are opinion are shut down and not valued. (Usually, it is not by the holder of the title but someone even higher up). That’s where the problem is. When the senior management plays favorites, it really wreaks havoc with a team!
I think titles become problematic when they are viewed as a status symbol vs. a responsibility. It may be a great honor to earn a medical doctorate but it means nothing without the ability to treat patients. As George Carlin once said, somewhere out there is the world’s worst doctor.
Also, many leaders with titles seem to believe they are better than everyone else. Subsequently they treat their “subordinates” very poorly. Basically don’t let a fancy title go to your head. You still have to earn that title everyday.
Side note: Seuss wrote the Sneetches story as a satire of racial/cultural discrimination (especially antisemitism)
I love the George Carlin quote. There is a difference between earning an honor and earning that title every single day. A friend said to me yesterday that a good leader is a good follower. I don believe that.
I did know that the original intent of the Sneetches was about prejudice and discrimination. I’m always fascinated my how stories can be interpreted in various ways. It’s a sign of a great story that resonates.