Let us end the era of the CFbrO and the She-E-O job title

Let us end the era of the CFbrO and the She-E-O job titleLet us end the era of the CFbrO and the She-E-O job titleAttention, please. Its time for a brief public service announcement.When deciding how to describe your titlein your company business cards, it can be tempting to be creative. Guru is often a popular choice, for instance, among some. But please, please, dont choose something like CFbrO.This detail came about in a long, unflattering profile ofGary Vaynerchuks chaotic, bro-tastic ad agency VaynerMedia.In a social-media-savvy company that was all about the CEOs hustle, Scott Heydt, Vayners former CFO, decided it would be cool to have a business card that identified him as aCFbrO.Thats the only detail we learn about Heydt in the whole profile, but it tells us all we need to know about him. It signals that his bro-tastic identity matters to him so much that he must feature it in his company title. This is a risk. For a client deciding whether to work with VaynerMedia, this busi ness card would signal a person who doesnt take his job seriously. Thats why job titles matter. Theyre the first impression you give a colleague or a prospective client, and as a representative of your company, yourtitle implicitly represents what values your company stands for.Is bro-iness the limiting, gendered message you want to be communicating to your employees and clients?Spoiler no.Why job titles matterVaynerMedia is not the only companyusing provocative business cards. Back when Facebook was known as The Facebook, 22-year-old CEO Mark Zuckerberg used business cards that read, Im CEOb- Its a phrase that comes off as dominant and self-centered, which is what young Zuckerberg, who modeled himself after fellow hothead Steve Jobs, was aiming for.According to early Facebook employeeAndrew Box Bosworth, the business cardswereintended as a joke for his friends and speaks to how unclear it was even in his own mind at the time that he would someday become such an important (and scru tinized) leader in our industry.It may have added to the unruly Lord of the Flies reputation that Facebook gained throughout its early years among investors, according to The Facebook Effect. Eventually, as Facebook aimed for bigger heights beyond one hackers viewpoint, the cards were phased out.SHE-E-O is a limiting titleGendered titles are also used by female executives and becoming increasingly popular. Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso branded herself as a Girlboss, a title she keeps even after she stepped down as CEOand her company filed for bankruptcy.Girlboss is a playful, irreverent title for a 22-year-old Amoruso founding a company but shes long outgrown it. As a 33-year-old grown woman, Amorusos decision to continue to identify herself as a girlboss infantilizes and diminishes her accomplishments.Its a limiting framework to describe a CEOand leader of a company because its inviting people toonly see you through one lens.But Amoruso isnt the only one to do this. Miki Agrawal , beleagured former CEO of period underwear company Thinx, is currently facingsexual harassment allegations, but before her downfall, she would call herselfSHE-E-O in external communications.Female bosses are already dealing with limiting biases and stereotypes about their competence in the workplace - no need to assign yourself one more limiting label.In this way,gendering your leadership skillsbecomes a way to sell yourself short. Even if it seems fun at first, its a great way not to be taken seriously later.