A managing director told me recently that he had previously been the chairman of a large advertising company and had for personal reasons taken a year off to work from home. Despite moderate financial success he had returned to a corporate position because he couldn't deal with people "not returning (his phone) calls". When he was chairman of a big-name company, people had recognised his status and phoned back immediately. As Joe Blow, independent consultant, he had been treated as insignificant.

This poses an interesting dilemma in today's work environment. "At last count," writes Charles Handy in Beyond Certainty, "the number of people in full-time jobs in organisations was less than half of all the adults of working age." As I wander around large international organisations I find that more and more people are leaving organisations in their early fifties. Forced out by the search for ever younger and more hardy talent, these seasoned, highly experienced elders find themselves in the dreaded position of consultant, retiree or unemployed - all equally unenviable situations. The key discomfort faced by most of these people is that at a time when they feel they are just mastering their craft, environment, profession or industry they are stripped of the status that comes with a recognised corporate identity. Outside an organisational structure people become themselves and in so doing lose their social standing.

Having been a consultant for over a decade I am used to having little social standing. Despite the fact that I earn more than most of my clients, am in demand worldwide, and turn down more work each year than I can accept I am used to people not answering my calls. As a self-employed adviser I am used to people deriding me as someone who "borrows your watch to tell you the time and then charges you for the watch". I also know from experience that to exist as an independent operator without the backing of a corporate or university name one has to be very good at what one does.

So here we have the rub. When people feel secure in their corporate positions they often scorn consultants. When they find themselves ousted from the corporate nests they discover how hard it is to operate without status and find that, rather than being leaches on the system, consultants, having to make it on their own merits, have to be excellent just to survive. More than that, once stripped of their corporate titles, retrenched and retired executives find that so much of their self-esteem was linked to their positions. Without the status and power that went with being "general manager so and so" or "senior engineer what nots" they are just themselves. As themselves they find, like the managing director mentioned earlier, that people within corporate hierarchies often fail to treat them with respect.

This sets the mind to wondering. Aren't we all just people doing our jobs to the best of our abilities? Whether we have corporate titles or choose to be independent operators, aren't we just professionals getting on with our jobs? As such aren't we all worthy of respect, dignity and status regardless of our titles? More than that, even if today we flaunt a high-sounding label, chances are that tomorrow we might just be that person whose call we ignored today. "75% of the newly jobless," writes the Wall Street Journal, "come from the ranks of managers, professionals and administrative and technical staff."

Talking recently with a newly retrenched senior executive I noticed the bitterness in his voice as he talked about life as a consultant. After years of having been respected because of his position he was now forced to fight to have his knowledge, experience and personal skills recognised. Again one wonders, wouldn't organisations be improved if they treated people on their merits, rather than as a function of their position and title? Wouldn't we all be better off if we treated all people regardless of their race, status, title or position with human dignity and respect? This might take a little more time and effort but by doing so we can validate our own and each other's humanity.

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Margot Cairnes

Margot Cairnes is an international leadership strategist. She delivers exceptional results through a unique approach to identifying and solving the issues facing organizations at times of great change, particularly implementing mergers and acquisitions. In addition to major change problems Margot acts as a mentor to leaders of global, commercial organizations. This confidential service provides a safe forum for leaders to explore the issues and beliefs that create and limit their success. You can visit Margot Cairnes web site at http://www.MargotCairnes.com or e-mail her at: cmuzard@changedynamic.com