Welcome to the Uphill Community Podcast.

Your source of inspiration to gain clarity, elevate your standards, and embrace your two and four more.

Together, we choose the uphill climb.

Pursuing the hard best over the easy good.

And discovering the extraordinary life waiting to be lived in community.

Welcome.

Welcome to the show.

I'm so glad you're with me and I'm, I'm glad I'm gonna have a great conversation with you guys today doing part two.

We're going to be working on part two of that function over title.

I've had quite a few discussions and conversations around that, especially in the work that I do, working as a people development person, in leadership and with teams.

And I'm so honored to do that on a regular basis in that I have clients that really invest that much in their people.

And so, man, it is.

I'm looking so much for, I'm looking forward so much having this conversation with you, but I'm also like just being real and just sharing with you.

Man, it has been a tough season, you know, kicking off 2025, some great, amazing things happening.

I'm just sitting here, I'm going, wow.

You know, I remember 2000, just thinking 2000, 1999, you know, Prince, 2000, party over, you know, thinking about that song and then 2000, everybody thought the world was going to come down and here we are 25 years later, just 25 years later, and I'm just sitting here going, wow, so many things have happened.

The world is doing so much stuff and in where I am and just some of the challenges and I feel like I am in, I'm in.

I have embarked on the greatest journey of growth in my lifetime where I'm at right now.

And the growth that I am working on as a human being just to become better, just getting better as a person.

But man, I am being challenged.

Like, whoa.

So before I jump into everything, if you're listening on Spotify right now, or if you're on podcast or Apple podcasts, if you're on Amazon, Audible, Substack, YouTube, however you're listening right now, follow the show, subscribe to the show.

I would really love that if you could even give a little review that share the show with others, that would mean a lot to me.

Additionally, if you want to follow me on the social platforms, the only two that I'm on are LinkedIn and Instagram.

And that's real simple.

If it's Instagram, Im pecoraro and excuse me.

And if it's on LinkedIn, it's Tim Pecora.

So yeah, I have some cool things that I'm doing right now.

My biggest thing that I'm into that's outside of the work that I do is I have a community launch called the Uphill Community.

If you're interested in checking that out, you could see that in my bio, link in, in Instagram, but you could also just go straight to it.

So it's the Uphill Dot Community and then you can learn more about it.

I've got people, I am taking them, helping them to lift their life, to bring difference into their life.

It doesn't matter if it's mental, emotional, physical, spiritual or financial well being.

If it doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter if you're starting a business, if you're transitioning out of a business.

It doesn't matter if you're a pro athlete, you want to become a pro athlete, whatever you're doing.

What I've created is frameworks that will help people make those changes in their life.

So if that's you and you're listening to this and you're interested, jump on over there, take a look at it.

It's never too late to join in and we can get you caught up to speed.

What's nice about it, Everything is in an app.

Everything is done where it's online.

You're able to have the resources readily available.

And yes, we go live when we say it's live.

It's not.

I recorded it and then it's there live.

Like there are weekly live activities and things that we're doing to advance and move forward and grow as people in community doing the hard best and not just the easy good.

So I mean, when I tell you again, so back to what I was saying and I just want to get through, you know, today so I can get you to work on some of this.

I'm really believing that there's so much more to our lives and we've got to allow ourselves to do that hard best.

We've got to allow ourselves to be challenged.

We've got to allow ourselves to go through some difficult things.

We've got to allow ourselves to, to choose to do harder things, not to just be put in difficult situations.

Too many people just want to go to.

Well, I just want it to be easier.

Well, easier is not going to grow you.

I do believe you.

Take a break.

There's always time for a timeout.

Most sports have timeout.

Okay.

And if, and if you're playing a sport you want to time out.

Timeouts are good.

Timeouts can Be used to break momentum, but remember, that's the key.

It breaks momentum.

Timeouts also can be used to reset and to kind of get your head together.

But the game's got to be.

Has to go on and play.

You've got to get back in.

You can't just sit there on timeout.

And so a lot of people have easy good in their life.

It's very easy.

I just want it to be easier.

I just want this to be easier.

I just want it to be easier.

It shouldn't have to be this much work.

I mean, I get that, right?

And I'm not talking about people just making unnecessary complications.

I'm talking about just real stuff.

The stuff that is the necessary tension that is going to help you or I go to the next level.

So these are the types of challenges that we need.

So, you know, it's kind of like this.

If you say, lord, I just want to be patient, right?

I mean, God help me to be patient.

So then what do you do?

You go to the store.

All other stores are closed.

The things that you need are only in this one store.

You get in line behind a person that's got two baskets full of stuff, and they have 100 coupons that they want to go through.

And you can't just leave because let's just say what you've got to get is so important, right?

So you feel all that angst, and so you might try to go, what can I do to get through this?

But what if that's what you need to go through?

What if that's a step to helping you become patient?

See, what we want is we want to become patient on our terms, right?

So it's kind of like if I want to be more loving, we want to be loving with the people that we want to love, versus loving with the people that are going to be difficult to love.

The only way that you can get stronger is to lift the weight, right?

That you need to lift.

You have to have resistance.

You have to have the improper amount of weight.

And so you can't just do basic stuff.

You've got to lift some weight.

You've got to have true resistance.

You've got to go through something.

So I talked about last week, this function over titles and a lot of times with the businesses that I'm working with, so many people, then this happens in life.

People are just looking for that position, they're looking for that elevation, they're looking to go up, they're looking to be recognized, they're looking to be higher.

They're looking to be compensated more.

They're looking just for more, more, more things like that.

Now, I'm not saying this is everybody, but there are, by and large, most people want to see their lives improve, which there's nothing wrong with that.

And a lot of times we want to be recognized or seen as a person with the idea.

Right?

And once again, if that's not you, then that's not you.

But I do want to talk about those who are in spots where leadership is important to you, right?

Anywhere in your life where it's important for you to be able to lead.

To be able to.

You're taking your life serious.

If it's just you're a husband, you want to lead better as a husband.

If you're a father, you want to lead better as a father.

If you're an employee, you want to lead better in the thing that you do, even if you're not the person in charge, that's still leadership.

Leadership is influence.

So you got to remember, when I'm talking about having that function of being a leader, it's about the influence part of it.

It's not about the title.

Again, it comes back to something, to me that is much more robust and richer and has deeper roots.

I'm talking about true function.

How do you function as a person?

How are you functioning as a human?

More so than a title, more so than the Mr.

Or Ms.

Or the doctorate or the bachelor's or associate's degree, more than any other accolade.

What the function.

So I want to bridge this gap today.

That's what I want to do on who you are and what you do.

So imagine you, you know, you wake up tomorrow, right?

So let's just say you have a job.

And.

And they.

Again, with the employees that I work with, and.

And I was talking about the difficult things I'm going through.

I feel like my stuff has been breaking.

I feel like I even.

I even got a.

A little blood thing on my eye.

Like I made it.

I hurt my eye thinking I had a contact in there and scooping and scooping and scooping and scooping until I irritated my eye to where I made a little red spot on my eye.

And just.

I mean, when you talk about everything coming at me at once, this has kind of been what's been happening.

But you know what's really cool?

It's been testing me on the very thing that I've been leading people in.

It's getting your function right?

Because guess what?

With this little red thing on my Eye with my computer that literally crashed when I was about to go online.

An hour before being online with a group of people to leave.

I had 10 minutes to spare.

Set up a whole new computer, which is not my ideal computer, but I got everything running.

I'm actually doing this podcast using a computer that's not my normal computer.

But I'm grateful.

First world problem that I had something to go to.

But guess what?

It's not complaining.

It's not anything else.

It's just getting back into it.

Why?

Because it's my function.

My function.

I function at a high level, and I am still going to do the things that I'm called to do without a title because of my function.

And you'll see more what I mean as I unpack this conversation today.

So imagine if you, wherever your job is, you wake up and let's just say you're.

You are the leader.

Let's just say you are in charge or someone you want to be in charge.

But let's just say your job title is gone.

No more.

You don't have a job if they call you manager.

Okay.

Which I don't like the term manager, but say you're called manager or your director, your leader.

Let's just say you're CEO, cfo, coo, you're the chief person in charge.

You're the coach, you're the whatever it is.

The only thing that remains is your actual impact.

Let's just say that's it.

What you actually really contribute.

Would people still recognize you as a leader?

Would they still recognize you as the one in charge?

Or would they see you that you had the position, you're no longer there and it wouldn't matter to them?

You know, would.

Would your work still hold its value?

You know, would people just miss you because you're a nice person or because of the impact?

Or does your influence depend solely on the title and that's the only reason you have influence?

Listen, I'm watching people each week right now that the only reason they have influence is because they've been given a title.

And I'm watching it, and I'm seeing it, and it rubs me raw.

Because in their minds, they think that what they're doing is good.

They think they have impact.

No, people are forced to follow them because they have the title.

And if they don't, they're not going to have access to the thing that they want to do unless they obey or do what they're told to do.

So everybody's on good behavior.

So in the last episode.

If you get a chance, I'd encourage you to go back and listen to it.

I talked about.

And the conversation was around having a title doesn't mean you're actually functioning in the role.

So we're going to go deeper now.

So we're going to talk about the costs of having a misalignment and how you can own your role.

And most importantly.

Okay, this is the most important part.

I'm gonna give you a test to help you figure out whether you're truly functioning or you're just holding on by the title.

Holding onto a title by the title.

So here's the deal.

Whether you're an employee, an entrepreneur, or you're leading a team, today's episode, I hope, is going to challenge you to go to the next level.

Okay, so let's get into it.

So there's a hidden cost to misalignment, right?

To.

To misalignment.

Not misalignment.

To misalignment.

So I want to start there with misalignment.

What happens when your title and your function, they just don't match up?

All right, so I'll.

I'll give you some examples in the workplace.

Here's the workplace impact of that.

When someone has the title but lacks the function, it's going to kill the morale and slow progress in the organization.

What's going to happen is people are.

People will resent, okay?

People are going to resent being led by someone who isn't actually leading them.

They're there, they show up, they're in charge.

They pass out information.

They organize you.

They do all this stuff, but they're just not leading.

So teams start operating around that person rather than with that person.

That's what will happen.

A team will just operate around that person, but they don't really do it with them.

All right, so think about it.

Have you ever worked for a boss or someone who had the title but didn't actually know how to lead?

Right, they didn't know how to.

Now, they knew how to, you know, say, do this and do that, but I mean, really lead when it mattered.

You know, that's what you'll find out.

You'll find out what kind of a coach you are when you actually go against real competition, right?

You'll.

Because sometimes you have the luxury of quality players on your team, and that's real easy, which I'm witnessing some of that now.

Around me, I see people with quality players, right?

And so they think that means they're good coaches.

What they're.

What they're doing is is they're being too, they're playing easy competition.

So until the competition gets tougher, you don't find out what kind of coaching you have because you're not running the risk of being out coached when you're playing teams that no matter how good the coach is, they don't have the quality of the players to compete.

So you've got to think about it that way.

You're going to find out when adversity shows up.

Adversity will reveal who you truly are and not who you say you are.

All right, so if you've ever had a boss like that, it's frustrating, is it not?

The team will start looking elsewhere for guidance and they'll look for the real leaders eventually will emerge.

And it's not going to be by a title, but it's going to be by a function.

I've seen this in companies over and over again where the leader who, who's supposed to be leading, they're not leading.

The team gets frustrated.

And so as I come in to work with a company, I start to notice and I see someone rising up and people are going to that person and that person is in this weird spot because they know they're not the boss, but yet they're trying to help the process.

What's even worse is if they go to the leader and say, look, I've noticed this and I want to help.

And that leader just exercises.

I'm the coach and they dominate and they shut you down and they don't allow any of that input.

That's a very difficult place to be.

But what's going to end up happening is you're going to see a person rise up out of function.

And that's what the function part will be pulled out of necessity.

It's amazing what humans do when there's a true need.

So the thing is, when there's a need now, you want the gift, you need the talent, you need the abilities, the skills, you need people, things that you're willing to devote yourself to.

And part of finding out what you're made of is allowing yourself to function at that capacity to see what your limitations are or are not.

So that's the first thing, workplace impact, when there's a misalignment, the second is a personal cost.

So the first one is workplace impact, second is personal cost.

You may get by for a while with your title alone, but if you're not functioning effectively, your credibility is going to erode.

It's just going to disappear.

Promotions and opportunities don't come from just having a title.

They actually come from proving your value.

I've witnessed a lot of people with the title of vp, okay, vice president, and, but yet they, they have the title, but they don't function like one.

And so there's a challenge now because maybe they put the company and they put a warm body in a cold place.

And so the person had maybe some, some, some education and some skills that they noticed, whatever, and they thought, oh, surely they can have the on the job training and learn this.

And they throw them in that spot.

Well, I don't believe that's a wise thing to do.

You should really vet the person and make sure that you've seen the vice president before they had the title of vice president.

Did you see the person before then?

Did you see that vice president in that other role?

That's what you're looking for, right?

So people will start tuning you out when, when your credibility erodes.

If they don't see real substance behind your role, they're going to just like tune you out.

They'll still show up.

They'll do their job, but they'll tune you out.

And then that could frustrate you because you're wondering what's happening.

And then you may get mad at them, you may call them that.

They don't listen.

They're not doing.

They're not.

I mean, it's amazing what will happen if you have the role.

People start to tune you out, you get mad, and then what happens is you want to call them obstinate or difficult or not working with you, when really it could just be you not functioning the way you're supposed to function.

And either it's because you can and you won't, or you just don't have what it takes to do it.

So you can't fake function for long.

Sooner or later, people recognize who is actually getting the things done and when tough decisions need to be made.

Organizations don't keep people for just their titles.

They keep people who deliver results.

Okay?

That's the key.

I'm hoping, if you're listening to this, that you're a person who wants to deliver results.

You're looking to grow and you want not just a title, you want to grow in who you are and how you show up and in your function.

So here's question that something that you could reflect, you can reflect on.

Are you adding value or are you just holding a position?

So take some time, you know, and think, am I adding value or am I just holding a position?

A Title.

So if you're just having.

If just having a title is enough, how do you make sure you're actually owning your role?

Right.

That's the key.

So if the title isn't enough, how do I own the role?

Right.

So if I'm asking myself, am I adding value or am I just holding a position?

Excuse me.

Because if having a title isn't enough, then how do I actually.

Or how do I make sure that I'm actually owning the role?

Well, I'm glad you asked the question.

So I'm going to get deeper still into this, from holding your title to owning the role.

So there's a big difference between the title holding and owning the role, because titles are assigned.

Hear me, A title is assigned or given, but function is something that you earn.

So how do you own your role?

I'm going to give you three simple things.

The first one is adopt a function first mindset.

Function first.

So instead of saying, I have this title, so I deserve respect, I want you to shift over to I contribute at this level.

And so what I do is I build credibility, right?

We're gonna do that again.

I have this title, so I deserve respect.

I'm gonna shift my thinking to, you know, that was a buzzer.

Okay, I'm gonna shift to I contribute at this level, so I am building credibility.

So the first one is adopt a function first mindset.

The second is work on the continuous improvement or continuous development.

That's one of my favorite things to do with the company is not just to go in and do a course.

A lot of companies come in that do what I do, and they take you through this cool little workshop and they do these cool little things.

But then after, it's kind of like, that's it.

And then they have another one to build on another.

They're all programmatic, right?

Just it's a program.

It's not this regular thing that's a regimen that you work into your life.

And how do you turn it into a lifestyle that lasts a lot, lasts a lifetime?

So one of the things that I do with the stuff that I develop for my clients is I have now moved past just these programs and these cool little things that help you solve one problem.

I focus on the people side that help people to get a mindset that is a lifestyle that lasts them a lifetime, that they're always adding to and building upon and connecting it with others, cultivating that as the DNA of the organization.

So continuous development.

No one just simply arrives.

Even the best leaders are always learning There are no natural born leaders, as John Maxwell would say.

There are only natural born babies, okay?

They're babies that are born, okay?

So seek mentorship, seek feedback, seek learning opportunities so that you can improve in your function.

If you want that continuous development, that's what you need to do.

The third is proactive contribution.

So functioning in your role means finding ways to add values in areas outside your job description.

All right, so how do I really function outside of my job?

Instead of saying, well, that's not my job, that's so and so's job, that's someone else's to do.

No, don't do that.

Learn to function beyond your own role.

Functioning in your role means finding ways to add value even in areas outside your job description, right?

That's what it really means.

That's the definition.

To function in my role means I find ways to add value.

That's what I do.

Once again, don't just be focused on your job.

How do you contribute to the greater good of the whole team?

That's what leadership needs.

Leadership is influence.

And if leadership is influence, that means, you know, you add value.

If you add value, it has to be not just in the thing that you do, but it has to, to come outside the thing that you do.

Other areas outside your job description and those who consistently solve problems and step up, they're the ones that move forward.

Let me ask you, if you were to think about this, what's one area in your role where you could step up right now even if no one asked you?

I mean, just right now, what if you did that and you thought, where's an area?

What's one area I could step up right now, even if no one asked?

But how do you know if you're functioning at the level that you should be?

That's another challenging question.

How do I know?

How.

How do I know?

So I want to step out, right?

I want to, I want to add value, I want to problem solve, I want to step up.

I want to think about an area that's, you know, an area in my role currently where I could step up right now even if no one asked me to do it, right?

But then I want to ask myself, after I answer that, it's like, well, how do I know if I'm even functioning at the right level that I should be?

I mean, how do I know that I'm performing at my optimal, right?

How do I know?

How will I know, right?

So I'm going to give you a simple little test.

So the roll versus function test it's real simple.

This is an assessment that you.

Hopefully if you do this and just you're honest with yourself, this will be helpful.

So you're going to ask yourself these three questions.

And this is the role versus function test.

Number one, if my title was removed today, would my impact remain?

Be able to answer that question.

If my title was removed today, would my impact remain?

Second question.

Do people follow my leadership because they respect my function or just because of my title?

Because that's the key.

If you're not contributing and if you're not adding, if there's no difference, if you're not there.

Again, I know sports teams at an amateur level that actually the coach is there just to do order, but the team doesn't even need it.

You could put a bad coach over there and the team can play at a certain level because they already have the pieces, but when they come up against hard competition, that's when the coach is going to matter.

Okay, so you're going to run into that in your life.

You're going to be in the things where you know you have, you don't have the quality of team, so you show up and maybe you have that quality and so you're able to elevate that group.

But then comes another time where now you have to rise above that title because they're getting better and they get into harder things.

Now you have to find out, are you the lid?

Are you the lid?

Can you function at a higher level?

Is there more to you and do people respect you in that function or is it just because of your title they got to keep following?

Because eventually what's going to happen is the talent and the skill and the team and that momentum which is hope you want.

If you're not going up and growing up, then what's going to happen is eventually you're going to have a title, but you're not going to have the function and then you're going to lose the team.

Here's the third one.

Am I actively developing my skills or am I relying on my title to just validate me?

Right?

Am I working on my skills?

So these are the three questions.

If my title was removed today, would my impact remain?

Do people follow my leadership because they respect my function or just because of my title?

And then am I actively developing my skills or relying on a title to validate me?

So I challenge you to take five minutes, just five minutes sometime, whether as soon as you're done listening to this episode or sometime tonight, sometime tomorrow, I don't care Just five minutes to reflect on those questions and identify one area where you need to grow your function.

Okay.

And I'm just going to give you a couple of real world examples as we close out.

So this is what it looks like when you have function over title.

This is in real action.

So there are so many people throughout history, people that I know, people right now that are modern day to me that are just incredible people that operate in their function, highly functioning individuals and they function, these people function in their roles when they weren't even recognized by it, by anyone else.

They just did it.

So I'm going to give you two examples that historically would be helpful to help shape your mind around this.

So Abraham Lincoln, he was leadership without a title.

So before he became the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, he was focused.

He was already a functioning leader.

He was focused on leadership through his wisdom, problem solving, and his ability to unify people.

And as a self taught lawyer and politician, Lincoln built his reputation by arguing for justice.

He was mediating conflicts.

He was making decisions that served the greater good.

His leadership wasn't about his title.

It was about his ability to think strategically, communicate effectively and earn people's trust long before he ever held the office of President.

So simply put, before he became president, Lincoln was known for solving problems and leading people without authority.

He was a lawyer.

He was known for his wisdom, strategic thinking and ability to bring people together.

And what's the lesson there?

The lesson is leadership isn't given.

It's displayed through action before the title is granted.

And I'm going to give you one more.

Rosa Parks.

She was influenced without a position.

Rosa Parks was an ordinary woman with no official title of leadership.

Yet her decision to refuse to give up her bus seat, it sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and ignited the civil rights movement.

She wasn't chosen by a committee.

She wasn't just given authority.

She stepped into her function as a leader by taking action in a moment of courage.

And her story is a powerful reminder that true leadership isn't about position, but about standing for what's right and inspiring change through actions.

So the nutshell of that is Rosa Parks had no official title or power, but her function as a leader changed history.

Another thing is she didn't wait for permission.

She took action that inspired a movement.

She didn't give up her seat on the bus.

So what's the lesson?

True leadership isn't about title.

It's not.

It's about the willingness to act for what's right.

And this applies to you.

It Applies to me.

It applies to everyday workplaces too.

I want you to think about someone at your job who may not have a leadership title, but everyone respects them because they get things done.

That's an example of function over a title.

So this is why focusing on function over title is key to your and my long term success.

So I want you to future proof your professional life through function, your career through function, your calling through function.

Why skills and function matter most more than titles.

You know why?

Because titles come and go, but function will always make you valuable.

The ability to adapt and develop your function will separate you and cause you to thrive when everyone else is stagnant.

All right, so I want you to future proof your function.

And here they are.

Here's how you future proof it.

Number one, develop transferable skills, skills that you can put anywhere.

Leadership, adaptability, decision making.

Okay, that's what I want you to do to future proof it.

Number two, I want you to seek feedback regularly.

Don't wait for an annual review.

Go to someone.

How am I doing?

How am I functioning?

Forget the title part.

Am I getting things done?

Do you see me contributing and problem solving?

Do you see me helping?

Do you see me adding value to the team?

Do you see me paying attention to the collective results for everyone?

And then the third thing is, is build influence, not just your authority.

People follow function again, not titles.

So the first is if you want to build a future, if you want to future proof yourself and your your life through your functions, develop transferable skills, seek feedback regularly and build influence, not just authority.

All right, there you have it.

So here's your final challenge.

Okay, I want you to take the role versus function test and commit to improving just one area this week.

I want you to ask my ask yourself, if my title disappeared tomorrow, what would still make me valuable?

And I want you to share your thoughts with me or someone else.

Tag me on social media, go to my Instagram or on LinkedIn, say, Hey, I listen to this and tag it.

Use function over title, Something like that.

Let's have a conversation around it.

Send me a message, tell somebody about it.

And then remember this, that titles will fade.

But function, that's going to last.

Focus on what you do, not just what you're called.

So until next time, keep showing up, keep delivering, and keep functioning at the highest level.

You can do this the hard best, over the easy.

Good.

So until next time, we'll talk soon.