Blogs and Articles from Third Way Forum Membrs

・ Titles used to be very important especially in dealing with external people so that you could access senior level people as your counter parts.

・ In some Japanese companies, it seems their title structure is chaotic. In order to give some recognition to senior people without actually being able to appoint them as managers or directors, there are still some fuzzy titles such as 補佐(assistant), 代理(substitute), 副(vice). In some companies, there are people whose titles are 課長補佐 (Assistant Manager) 課長代理(Manager Substitute) and 副課長(Vice Manager). You have no idea who is doing what and who is more senior.

・ But these days in more modern Japanese companies, titles are becoming more creative due to influence of Tech companies. Instead of using traditional titles, they now use the titles of Lead or Head more often.

・ While titles are getting less rigid in Japan, they are still very important and often the center of serious dispute especially when titles are associated with entitlement, such as who can fly business class and who can use the upgraded compartment of the train etc.

・ Also, there seems to be a strict difference between supervisors and managers. Even if you are managing some tasks as supervisors , unless you official become managers you have no power to manage people.

・ Due to digitalization and remote working, the traditional hierarchy culture seems gradually changing. We are now asked for Inkan (Stamp) less frequently and less and less people call each other by title in the office. Also, with the online working style prevailing widely, we see less status symbols in our daily work.

・ In old days, there were many status symbols that reminded people of power structure such as the office layout, the size of the private office, the types of the desk and chair, the number of assistants and all sorts of entitlements such as company limo and club membership etc. But with the online working practice, we have none of that. As a result, Japanese people’s mindset is also gradually changing. It is becoming very difficult for senior people to demonstrate hierarchical power without physical set-up supporting status symbols.

・ This is probably the reason why many Japanese senior leaders are now going back to the conventional office working sytle and many Japanese companies are already ordering employees to come back to the office and work in the office. Once you get to a certain senior level, it is very difficult to let go of the feeling of power in a nice corner office with an obedient secretary who brings tea and does all your admin works. Thanks to the status symbols in the office, those senior people feel powerful and gratified. As it is said, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, the lure of power is so strong that there are only a few progressive-minded Japanese executives who are ready to let go of all these status symbols and think of the effectiveness of the whole organization.

・ As the first step, people have to realize that leadership and appointed leaders are two different things. Leadership is for everyone to demonstrate regardless of the titles. Appointed leaders carry titles of leaders but it is not necessarily always true that they demonstrate leadership. We should create a culture of “no-BS leadership” where leadership is respected rather than titled leaders. Those who have titles of leaders but do not demonstrate leadership should be stripped off their titles.

・ Also it is important that the pressure for change also comes from the bottom and middle of the organizations. The senior leaders are enjoying their power status. It is highly unlikely that they let go of their entitlement. If the company is to become modernized and transformed to be more globally competitive in today’s digital era, a strong push should come from all sides to get rid of those status symbols and unnecessary entitlements of senior people. If they no longer have those obsolete hierarchical entitlement in the office, they probably will not ask employees to come to the office any more, and they themselves prefer to work from home as well.