Beyond Titles: Reimagining Introductions in Professional Meetings

In a recent workshop, I found myself in a room with the full C-suite of executives and their teams. As we went around the table for introductions, I noticed something that felt oddly outdated: "I'm John, the CFO." "I'm Sarah, the CMO." "I'm Mike, Head of Digital."

While impressive, these role-based introductions left me wondering: what does any of this tell us about why we're actually here?

The Title Trap

Job titles serve a purpose in organizational structures. They help define reporting lines, compensation bands, and broad areas of responsibility. But in the context of a specific meeting—particularly collaborative workshops or project discussions—titles can create unnecessary hierarchies and fail to communicate what truly matters: why each person is in the room.

Having founded and grown TSD from a one-person operation to what it is today, I've worn nearly every hat in the business. Now that my business card reads "CEO," I've noticed that this title often communicates very little about my actual purpose in many meetings I attend.

Purpose Over Position

What if we introduced ourselves differently? Imagine this alternative:

"Hi, I'm Tim. I'm here to oversee the general discussion, facilitate the direction of the conversation, and ensure the right team members are brought into the project moving forward."

"Hello, I'm Bill. I head up the finance team, and I'm here because you'll need to know who to direct invoices to and discuss budget considerations."

"I'm Jack from marketing. I'm here to understand the requirements from a marketing perspective and ensure our messaging aligns with what's being developed."

This purpose-focused approach accomplishes several things:

1. Clarifies contribution - Everyone immediately understands each person's role in the specific discussion
2. Reduces power dynamics - The focus shifts from hierarchy to contribution
3. Identifies unnecessary participants - It quickly becomes apparent if someone doesn't have a clear purpose for being there
4. Directs questions appropriately - Others know exactly who to address for specific concerns

The Meeting ROI Question

Purpose-based introductions also naturally lead to the question every busy professional should ask: "Why am I in this meeting?"

When forced to articulate your purpose, you might realize you don't have one. And that's perfectly fine—it gives you permission to excuse yourself and reclaim that hour for more productive work.

A McKinsey study found that executives spend an average of 23 hours per week in meetings, with 15% of an organization's collective time spent in meetings—a percentage that has increased every year since 2008. Imagine the organizational impact if even a small percentage of those meetings were attended only by those with a clear purpose.

Context-Specific Roles

Another benefit of purpose-based introductions is recognizing that roles shift throughout a project lifecycle. The CEO might need to be in the kickoff meeting to set strategic direction but can skip the technical implementation discussions. The Head of Marketing might need to join requirements gathering but not testing sessions.

When we define ourselves by our purpose in each specific context, we create space for more fluid, efficient participation patterns.

Implementation Tips

Ready to try purpose-based introductions in your next meeting? Here are some practical tips:

1. Start with yourself - Model the behavior by introducing yourself by purpose first
2. Set the expectation - When facilitating, explicitly ask attendees to share why they're there rather than their title
3. Keep it concise - Aim for one or two sentences that clearly articulate your contribution
4. Normalize absence - Create a culture where it's acceptable (even encouraged) for people to excuse themselves from meetings where they lack a clear purpose
5. Document the purposes - For recurring project meetings, consider documenting each attendee's purpose to reinforce their specific contribution

Beyond Efficiency: Building Psychological Safety

There's a deeper benefit to purpose-based introductions beyond efficiency. By focusing on contribution rather than position, we create more psychologically safe environments.

Research by Google's Project Aristotle identified psychological safety—the belief that one won't be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, or concerns—as the single most important factor in high-performing teams. When C-suite executives introduce themselves by their purpose rather than their title, they signal that input is welcome based on relevance, not rank.

The Resistance You'll Face

If you attempt to shift your organization toward purpose-based introductions, expect resistance. Titles serve as status markers, and some may feel uncomfortable setting them aside, even temporarily. This is particularly true in hierarchical organizations or industries where title progression is a primary measure of career advancement.

The key is to frame this approach not as eliminating titles (which still serve important functions in the broader organizational context), but as supplementing them with purpose in specific collaborative settings.

A Small Change with Big Impact

As with many organizational changes, this one begins with personal practice. In your next meeting, try introducing yourself differently:

"I'm [Name] and I'm here today to [specific purpose for this specific meeting]."

You might be surprised how this small shift changes the dynamic of the discussion that follows. At a minimum, it clarifies your own thinking about why you're spending your valuable time in that room.

And if you can't articulate a clear purpose? Perhaps that's the most valuable insight of all.

References

Harvard Business Review. (2017). "Stop the Meeting Madness." https://hbr.org/2017/07/stop-the-meeting-madness

Duhigg, C. (2016). "What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team." The New York Times Magazine. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html

McKinsey & Company. (2019). "The Online Meeting Survival Guide." McKinsey Quarterly.