Listener Question: Defining VP Roles and Titles for Growing Teams

Emily answers a listener’s question about job titles in a growing 50-person company, giving advice on moving beyond generic VP roles and considering more specific titles like VP of Operations or Chief of Staff. She explains the importance of planning for future growth, staying flexible with titles, and being mindful of internal dynamics when making these decisions. She also shares cautionary tales about people getting attached to their job titles.

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Who Am I?

If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want. 

 

Time Stamps:

00:56 Importance of Structure at 50 Employees
01:35 Specific Titles and Chief of Staff Role
02:21 Planning for Future Growth
03:15 Reverse Engineering Titles
04:02 Considering Team Dynamics and Flexibility
06:46 Motivations Behind Title Changes
08:03 Conclusion and Contact Information

Episode Transcript

emily-sander_1_07-29-2025_0 (00:25):
All right, listener question from
anonymous who asks, we are asmall 50 employees, but growing
company and struggling toidentify the correct quote
unquote terms for our job titlesand identifying what each VP
should do.
We have four VPs with that titleonly and have been this way for
nearly three years.

(00:46):
We are trying to figure out ifwe need a chief of staff, VP of
operations, et cetera, whatresources or recommendations
would you have to help us makeprogress with these decisions?
Okay, so this is a good, this isa good question because at
around 50 employees is kind of.
An inflection point where you dowanna start building some
structure, and I don't wanna saylayers necessarily, but it's

(01:08):
where you, it's where you can'tjust pop over the top of the
cubicle and, Hey Bob, I have aquestion for you, and everyone
kind of knows what's up, 50employees.
You gotta start building in somestructure there and help
professionalize and grow thebusiness so.
It sounds like the way I readthis, your little sentence in
the middle here is we have fourVPs with that title only, so
they're just called vicepresidents, not of anything.

(01:31):
So some things to think abouthere.
One.
So the short answer to yourquestion is one, yes, I would
add more specific titles thanjust VP.
I, of course, am gonna make theargument for chief of staff that
there should be a chief of staffat this, at this stage of the
company.
I think that could add a lot ofvalue to the majority of

(01:51):
companies now without in depth,detailed, rigorous analysis of
your company and business modeland leadership team makeup, et
cetera, et cetera.
I can't a hundred percentguarantee that, but I would say
in the majority of cases, you'regonna want a chief of staff and
can get a lot of benefit out ofthat.
If you get the right person inthat role and if you set that
role up well, so other things toconsider if you are continuing

(02:16):
to grow or you or you project orplan, or hope that you will
continue to grow.
You can start thinking aboutwhat does the company look like
and what does the team structurelook like 12 months from now, 18
months from now, 24 months fromnow.
Further, if you have thatroadmap ahead of you, you can
also take things like what isthe average tenure of an

(02:37):
executive at our company?
Let's just say it's.
Two years, for example, like twoyears is the average tenure that
an executive, a VP, and abovewill stay at the company.
Okay?
So what does it look like in twoyears?
What do we project the teams aregonna look like in two years?
For example, it might be, um,our product team should be

(02:58):
growing.
Should be like three x in twoyears.
Like maybe that's kind of whereyou need the growth in people.
It might be our sales team wouldneed to expand globally in order
to support what we're trying todo in, in two or three years
time, whatever, whatever thatthat looks like for you.
And then I would kind of do areverse engineer exercise and,

(03:22):
and the example that's coming tomind is, for instance, I would
not.
Create a VP of technology rightnow when really that person is
like a manager of the help desk.
Then in a year from now, or intwo years from now when you
might need to hire an actual VPof technology?

(03:42):
Well, that title and spot iskind of already taken.
So you can get creative and getkind of swirly with titles and
you know, overinflate certainthings and call certain things
something else where no onequite knows what that mean, but
I guess they do that in reallife.
So we kind of figure it out aswe go.
So those are some things tothink about.
It also might be, okay, where,where will we need?

(04:05):
Additional layers of support maybe mid-level management, maybe
additional VP or SVP.
Where does it make sense to havethose future inflection points
thought through?
And it might be the case whereit's like, Emily, like we don't
know what's happening in likethree months from now, let alone
two or three years from now,which is totally fine.
I think if you're coming to thepoint where you're starting to
ask the questions, do we needfurther titling for our, for VPs

(04:30):
that are just VPs?
And you're sensing that, then Iwould say.
Go along with that intuition.
At least have some discussionsaround that.
Are people unclear?
Are people unhappy with theirtitles?
Is it external folks who needmore clarity and direction about
who they're talking to?
Is it internal?
Like, what is the impetus for,for that discussion?

(04:52):
I think it's a good discussionto have.
What else?
Let me read this question andscan it again.
Uh, a small company growing,struggling to identify correct
terms, um.
Yeah, the correct terms.
Um, if that's, that, can, thatword can mean a different thing.

(05:12):
So it can mean, Emily, should webe calling folks, VPs?
Should we be calling them VP ofsomething?
I'm trying to figure out likedifferent ways that you might be
asking that question.
Um.
Figure out if we need chief ofstaff, VP of operations.
Yeah.
I would say like VP ofoperations.
Like what?
What are you the vice presidentof?

(05:33):
I think that.
Another thing to think about.
These are kind of cautionarytales, but things that I've seen
over and over again is somepeople, not all, not all, but
some people get real touchyabout their title, like real
touchy about their title andtheir title in comparison to
other people.
If, if they're a vp, then why amI not a vp?

(05:55):
Um, if you're calling that a vp,you know what's, what's an SVP?
Like, how can I do a good job?
How can I be a top performer?
All these types of things.
So.
50 employees.
Again, this stuff will starthappening most likely,
especially as you continue togrow.
So just keep these things inmind and maybe one, one
guideline you can use as you gothrough this process is what

(06:17):
allows you to be flexible andhave options and optionality as
you move forward versus lockingyourself in to something like,
okay, we've made this title soconcrete and so definitive, and
so.
Specific in, in almost adetrimental way versus something
that gives us a little moreflexibility in the future.

(06:37):
So those are some things tothink about.
I think that, again, these aregood discussions to have.
I think that you're at the rightstage, a company and inflection
point to start having thesediscussions.
And one of the thing I'll say ismake sure you're doing this for
the right reasons.
So.
Hopefully it's just a naturalpart of the conversation.
As your company grows, if oneparticular person is griping and

(07:01):
has a, has a act to pick withsomeone about something, and
that's the whole genesis of, ofthis discussion, the whole
motivation for this.
Mm.
Maybe take a look at that.
Maybe there's a kernel of truthand it's worth a discussion
where it's like it didn't comefrom the greatest place, but
honestly, we, we could talkabout this.
If it's to placate one personand everything else is fine and

(07:23):
everyone else is fine and it'salmost more trouble than it's
worth.
I would kind of take a look atthe motivations and reasoning,
and maybe it's that.
Maybe if that is the case.
It's not that you don't respondat all, it's just you respond.
In kind of a proportional way,uh, where it might be not be
like, okay, we're doing a hugeretreat and every wall of our

(07:44):
leadership team managers are up,are going on this retreat and
we're coming up with titles andwe're making sure this is right.
If it's like, Hey, this personlike needs a change in their
title and it doesn't cost usanything, no one else is gonna
get their feathers ruffled.
No one else is gonna even careor know it's just gonna be this
person and they're gonna behappier.
Okay.
That might be a thing youconsider as well, so hopefully.
That helps, and if you have anyfollow-up questions or if anyone

(08:08):
listening has a question off ofthis question or it spurs a
question of their own, thenplease feel free to reach out.
You can email me directly atEmily at next level coach, find
me on LinkedIn or drop aquestion in the comments and
I'll catch you next week onleveraging leadership.