Are We Missing Some “Alphabet Leaders”?

I got thinking about this the other day—probably in the shower. (That’s where some of my best thinking occurs.)

Consider: we have Alphabet Leaders. The CTO, COO, and CIO answer to the CEO. (That’s the Chief Technology Officer, the Chief Operations Officer, and the Chief Information Officer reporting to the Chief Executive Officer. Notice that these, more often than not, are men, and the titles all use vowels. However, three vowels are unaccounted for: A, U, and Y. 

I think they are reserved for individual positions regardless of gender, and everybody holds these titles. The CAO is the chief accountability officer. We all have that title. What are we holding ourselves accountable for? At the end of the day, what did I achieve? 

The CUO is the chief understanding officer. How well do you understand the customer? Your colleague? Your client? Without understanding, which is a function of deep listening, it is hard to move forward. The book of Proverbs was right: seek first to understand rather than to be understood.

And of course, the CYO is the Chief Yippee Officer. She is in charge of merriment, fun, and finding humor that sparks creativity. Hard to work where there is little joy or merriment. 

Something to think about.