Title Without Power
Power & Oppression › Structures of Power
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Sensitivity: Explores misuse of authority within professional spaces.
Content Note: Mentions workplace hierarchy, power imbalance, and emotional impact.
A Moment
I remember realising that some of the people I looked up to had titles I respected, but not the leadership I expected.
For a long time, I assumed those two things went together.
If someone was a manager, I believed they knew what they were doing.
I believed they would step in when things went wrong.
I believed they would protect the people they were responsible for.
Slowly, I realised that wasn't always true.
The title remained.
What I expected from it began to change.
What It Did to Me
It created confusion at first.
I assumed titles meant competence.
I assumed hierarchy meant experience.
But what I witnessed was something different: authority used as a shield, and responsibility quietly redirected downward.
It left me carrying weight that was not mine to carry.
Doing the work without the recognition.
Holding the standards without the protection.
Over time, it shaped a quiet distrust of labels.
I began watching actions more closely than words.
What I Came to Understand
Looking back, I realised some of the people who influenced me most were not the people with the highest titles.
They were the people who listened.
The people who followed through.
The people who stayed steady when things became difficult.
That changed how I understood leadership.
It became less about position and more about presence.
The title remained.
But what it represented did not always match what was experienced.
And that difference stayed with me.
Where This Still Shows Up
I still notice myself looking beyond titles.
I pay attention to how people treat others.
Whether their actions match their words.
Whether they create safety or uncertainty.
I trust what I experience far more than what is written on an organisational chart.
Closing Line
I stopped looking at the title first.
Gentle Reminder: There is no urgency in awareness.
