Becoming Indispensable

We all want to be appreciated by others for who we are and what we do. That’s nice, but it won’t protect your job or advance your career.

The way you do that is by being seen as indispensable. By being regarded so highly you’re the last person they’d want to see leave or to get rid of.

While there’s no guarantee, or course, here are seven things that will get you closer to being seen as indispensable:

(1.) Take on the unwanted job - Pick up a skill in something vital to the company but relatively hard to learn or do. Or, be the best at something no one else wants to do. What is that where you work? There’s always something.

(2.) Take on more work than assigned - Volunteer to help on projects that are way behind schedule or last-minute jobs that need to be done in a hurry or offer help to a struggling co-worker. You have to be selective because no one has lots of free time, but doing one of these things has high payback, career-wise.

(3.) Demonstrate leadership on group projects - Leadership doesn’t come from title. It comes from action. Even if you’re not heading up a project or committee, you can still offer encouragement when things get tough. You can mediate or mend fences when there’s conflict. And, you can foster coalescence as a team.

(4.) Confirm priorities - A focus on priorities is always essential. But sometimes priorities shift. So, make it a habit to confirm current priorities with your boss each quarter. And if there’s a change, shift to the new ones. Don’t be the one who stubbornly fights the change.

(5.) Hand out praise 360 - Everyone loves positive feedback. Make sure you send it up to your boss, down to subordinates, and across to peers when you see it. This is the kind of person people want to be around.

(6.) Mentor a junior person - Helping develop young talent feels good. And, it obviously benefits your co-worker and the department and company overall. But, it’s also the kind of thing that gets noticed by upper management. Leadership gets rewarded.

(7.) Make your boss look good - Pay special attention to projects or tasks important to your boss, especially those where there’s visibility from above. When you do an exceptional job on those items, you’ll stand out in your boss’s eyes. Your boss knows he/she can depend on you, the kind of person they want on their team going forward.

Become indispensable.

Have a great week!

Bob

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, there are four ways I can help you, either as an individual or as a team:

(1.) Comprehensive courses with coaching (like All-Win Negotiating and Developing & Delivering Great Presentations)

(2.) Mini-courses (where we focus in depth on one key success topic)

(3.) What to Do Next (strategies and counterstrategies for every sales situation and obstacle)

(4.) One-on-One coaching (customized to achieving your specific outcome).

Just email me [email protected] if you’d like to talk about what you want to do. It’s a no-cost consult.