Just a title
Sometimes, titles like chairman, senior adviser, even president are merely designed to justify inclusion of a person in the company payroll. Holders of these familiar titles with undefined responsibilities may be important for some reasons having to do with status or favors granted. Holders of these appellations may be mere figureheads. This is why calling cards specify the designation of chief executive officer. The “CEO” title alerts everyone that this card holder is to be taken seriously, until proven otherwise.
The term “figurehead” originally referred only to the carving on the prow of a ship that serves as its distinguishing mark and symbol. It is the part of the ship against which the inaugural champagne bottle is bashed. While this symbol leads the ship forward simply by being positioned in front, it has nothing to do with steering the ship’s course.
The figurehead then of an organization refers to a person with a fancy title, but actually possessing no real authority or responsibility. Being at the prow of the ship is a matter of location that has nothing to do with control.
No one, least of all the subject himself, attaches the description of “figurehead” to a position holder, except perhaps behind his back. And it is not always easy for outsiders to determine if the person with a fancy title even has the authority to give away his company’s Christmas umbrellas. Courtesy visitors from abroad routinely make calls on the figurehead. They can be forgiven the mistake of leaving proposals for major acquisitions with this titular titan. He may flip through the pages of the report as he assures his visitors that “we will seriously evaluate this” as he ushers the latter out the door… and sends the proposal on its way to the real decision points.
Why are figureheads hired at all if they are not expected to do anything affecting the corporate ship’s course?
Such ceremonial leaders are venerable and wizened personages who may have retired from a major position that actually wielded real authority of life and death in a previous incarnation. Japanese banks and conglomerates pluck former Cabinet ministers “descended from heaven” to fill the role of ritual head. These gray hairs (often dyed dark brown) can attract business and provide prestige even if they do not have budget targets to meet.
Figureheads report for work regularly, sometimes very early as if they need to get started before the cock crows. They sign checks and contracts already negotiated and reviewed by the real powers, cut ribbons for new plants, and take out courtesy callers to lunch.
A second-in-command in the country may also be a figurehead stripped of a real portfolio and not allowed to sit in on meetings. She can keep busy by popping up in areas featured in the front pages. She can pick a cause like malnutrition and the stunted brain growth attached to this. She occasionally intones for those who care to listen that her commitment to democratic ideals is strong (pause for five seconds with a faraway look) …and unwavering.
Make-believe positions (MBP) are not to be confused with the role of figurehead. The former has to do with ambiguous jobs in creativity nurturing or corporate culture with no specific key result areas. These are characterized by the need to call several meetings a day and request reports from people doing real work like marketing and production. The MBP Head is the emperor with no clothes. He walks the halls confidently, dreading that question from the uninformed — what do you really do?
Nobody asks the chairman/figurehead what he does. He chairs meetings. While his title reveals nothing, it also requires no explanation. Like the figure carved on the prow, the figurehead can feel the ship moving without his help. He understands when a journey has begun.
It’s also possible to use a figurehead as a convenient device for the real manipulators behind a company to have a respectable front. Maybe the latter possesses the aura of respectability. This front can take the bayonet in the stomach when investigations are launched on what the company is up to.
The figurehead occasionally feels the salt water spray on his face as the ship plows through the water. He doesn’t need to know where the ship is headed.
Why are figureheads hired at all if they are not expected to do anything affecting the corporate ship’s course?