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6 levels of Status at Work

#1 · September 1, 2023, 3:07 pm

Quote from John Freeman on September 1, 2023, 3:07 pm
Hello TPM community,
I've had this idea from a mix of my own experience, Lucio's advice and "Stealing the corner office" book.
I've identified 6 levels of status at work:
Peer level
Team level
Organization level
Regional level
National level
Field level
For concrete examples, I'll relate to them within my field of medicine.
My working definition of status is about the social importance of someone, therefore one's social value: how valuable a member is to a group.
1. Peer level
Applies to: relative status between members at the same level as you.
Example: being an attending physician working with 2 other attending physicians.
Example of concrete step to increase status: appearing more knowledgeable/competent than one's colleagues.
2. Team level
Applies to: relative status within the whole team across the hierarchy (eg. between subordinates and superiors)
Example: this one is tricky as it is important not to appear higher status than one's superiors and being higher status than one's subordinate is a given in most cases. This shows that the status game is better played in the team between equals.
Example of concrete step to increase status: sharing an article valuable for the whole team in a Whatsapp group (has the same effect at the peer level, so could also fit there).
3. Organization level
Applies to: relative status of one's team compared to other teams within the organization
Example: pediatrics team vs orthopedic team
Example of concrete step to increase status: during the medical meeting with orthopedic surgeon, making sure to review the cases beforehand in order to better present them (makes the pediatric team look good).
4. Regional level
Applies to: relative status of one's team compared to other teams in the same field in a neighbouring region
Example: local pediatrics team vs another pediatrics team from another hospital
Example of concrete step to increase status: when transferring a patient to the university hospital having the transfer letter well written, the case well explained to the transfer team and good working hypotheses (differential diagnoses) and management plan.
5. National level
Applies to: relative status of one's team compared to other teams in the country
Example: local pediatrics team vs all other pediatrics team in other hospital
Example of concrete step to increase status: presenting a scientific poster at a pediatrics national convention
Comments: that is also what made me write this post. My power player colleague did this. It's too bad because it's a case that I received the call for but then I gave it to my colleague as I had paperwork to do. I was not aware one could do a poster on it either. Now there's a picture of him and another colleague with their 2 posters in our common Whatsapp group. Huge status boost for both of them. The head of the pediatrics department reacted to the pictures. She very rarely reacts to messages in the group. And also it's interesting to know that she did not react to the gratitude I received for organizing a picnic nor to the articles I shared. So the hospital reputation is what matters the most to her. It's good to know. That means that each person cares about their status at their own level. I care about my status within the attendings, she cares about her status within other head of pediatrics departments.
6. Field level
Applies to: one's (team) relative status in the whole field (across the World)
Example: being recognized as a World-class authority
Example of concrete step to increase status: write a scientific paper in a recognized pediatrics journal.
These are ideas, not a set theory. I'm happy to discuss them if you guys have any comment or criticism.

Hello TPM community,

I've had this idea from a mix of my own experience, Lucio's advice and "Stealing the corner office" book.

I've identified 6 levels of status at work:

Peer level
Team level
Organization level
Regional level
National level
Field level

For concrete examples, I'll relate to them within my field of medicine.
My working definition of status is about the social importance of someone, therefore one's social value: how valuable a member is to a group.

1. Peer level

Applies to: relative status between members at the same level as you.
Example: being an attending physician working with 2 other attending physicians.
Example of concrete step to increase status: appearing more knowledgeable/competent than one's colleagues.

2. Team level

Applies to: relative status within the whole team across the hierarchy (eg. between subordinates and superiors)
Example: this one is tricky as it is important not to appear higher status than one's superiors and being higher status than one's subordinate is a given in most cases. This shows that the status game is better played in the team between equals.
Example of concrete step to increase status: sharing an article valuable for the whole team in a Whatsapp group (has the same effect at the peer level, so could also fit there).

3. Organization level

Applies to: relative status of one's team compared to other teams within the organization
Example: pediatrics team vs orthopedic team
Example of concrete step to increase status: during the medical meeting with orthopedic surgeon, making sure to review the cases beforehand in order to better present them (makes the pediatric team look good).

4. Regional level

Applies to: relative status of one's team compared to other teams in the same field in a neighbouring region
Example: local pediatrics team vs another pediatrics team from another hospital
Example of concrete step to increase status: when transferring a patient to the university hospital having the transfer letter well written, the case well explained to the transfer team and good working hypotheses (differential diagnoses) and management plan.

5. National level

Applies to: relative status of one's team compared to other teams in the country
Example: local pediatrics team vs all other pediatrics team in other hospital
Example of concrete step to increase status: presenting a scientific poster at a pediatrics national convention
Comments: that is also what made me write this post. My power player colleague did this. It's too bad because it's a case that I received the call for but then I gave it to my colleague as I had paperwork to do. I was not aware one could do a poster on it either. Now there's a picture of him and another colleague with their 2 posters in our common Whatsapp group. Huge status boost for both of them. The head of the pediatrics department reacted to the pictures. She very rarely reacts to messages in the group. And also it's interesting to know that she did not react to the gratitude I received for organizing a picnic nor to the articles I shared. So the hospital reputation is what matters the most to her. It's good to know. That means that each person cares about their status at their own level. I care about my status within the attendings, she cares about her status within other head of pediatrics departments.

6. Field level

Applies to: one's (team) relative status in the whole field (across the World)
Example: being recognized as a World-class authority
Example of concrete step to increase status: write a scientific paper in a recognized pediatrics journal.

These are ideas, not a set theory. I'm happy to discuss them if you guys have any comment or criticism.

Lucio Buffalmano and Roberto have reacted to this post.

#2 · September 2, 2023, 10:22 am

Hey John,

This seems like a great and important addition on how to look at status/reputation.

I think it's also helpful to strategize at a higher level, since some people may get stuck at a single level, especially the "lower ones" and forget the more important ones.

It's not to say that the lower levels aren't important, but if one can make bigger moves at the higher levels, the lower ones may become comparatively less important.

What makes the bigger picture look so important is that the higher levels allow one to start transcending the day-to-day turkey games, the lower-level politics and even the asshole-type of bosses.

For example, the "law" of "never outshine the master" applies mostly to those who only think and operate at the most immediate level, with little thought or access to the higher ones.
And it applies (much) less to those with a great recognition/reputation at the higher levels because your immediate boss is mostly lower-level important and many bosses do NOT have a great higher-level status themselves.
So if you can fly high at the higher levels, you don't need to be at the mercy of a mediocre/asshole boss and can also leapfrog him (recorded a short-format video on that "law" and will drop with the subsequent batches).

John Freeman and Roberto have reacted to this post.

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#3 · September 2, 2023, 8:51 pm

Thanks a lot for your answer, Lucio.

I had this intuition but was not sure enough to write about it. I thought that for instance if one writes an article (field level) one gets status in all the other levels. So I agree about the importance of addressing the higher levels.

Seeing my colleague gain status outside the organization made me relativize all the value I was bringing to the organization as it will not be known outside. I'll ask for a recommendation letter of course. However the impact will not be the same that if I would have participated to a national congress as he did.

So in terms of long term impact, my work has more impact within the organization but I don't get the corresponding status outside of it.

Lucio Buffalmano and Roberto have reacted to this post.