How to be irreplaceable at work?
For every dedicated working person, the main goal is to show up at work and give it their best shot one day at a time. However, being the best at what you do does not come with finishing off your daily priorities. The biggest misconception of new recruits is that they believe that just because they show up everyday and work hard, they are 100% irreplaceable; which is not the case, as a company does not value people who do not add value to the company no matter how dedicated they might be. In order to be able to add value, you need to be obsessed with what you do. You need to be an expert in the area that you are meant to know and understand.
Once you do understand these aspects, you will be able to suggest solutions to the problems for the company. You can go from someone who’s doing to someone who’s ‘doing’ to someone who’s thinking, strategizing, planning and offering solutions. With the pandemic and digital disruption going hand-in-hand, people want results. It’s not just about working hard, you could be working hard at all the wrong things but not be bringing the company the results they need to grow.
The key aspect to always understand is that if the company has to downsize, will I be let out? There are things that you can do to be irreplaceable in your workplace; build your career in a way where you are valuable to the organization that you are a part of. Look at things not from your point-of-view, but your company’s point-of-view; their growth and KPI should be what you focus on.
Here are a few things you can do to make sure that you retain your position at work, and in turn bringing value to your organization:
Ask the right questions: Ask what are the company’s goals and how you can contribute to the company’s success; ask how you can be a game-changing person in the organization and what the CEO or Manager is looking for in their employees to achieve these goals. Most likely its always growth and revenue, which is instrumental and the easiest KPI to achieve. At the end of the day if you’re income generating, that’s valuable to not just the CEO but the company as a whole. Being irreplaceable doesn’t really come by showing up everyday its about the “I can get you results” mindset. Use your appraisal, your interview, your internship or anything that poses as an opportunity to ask the questions that could lead the way to the ultimate question- “How does this company gauge the success?”
Develop the tools in order to ask the right questions: If you’re informed of a target you need to reach; their goal KPI for the end of the year of their revenue generation, and you see everyone working towards that- think of the right tools that can help the company achieve these goals. Do they need new businesses? Do they need new clients? Do they need me to retain my clients. Do they need me to retain the business? Ask yourself these questions and come up with answers. More importantly come with the answer for the crucial question- “What can I do to really be somebody that this company cannot afford to lose?”
Figure out how to add value: Value means not just doing what you’re asked to do, but doing all the additional things that you are not asked to do that the company is actually looking for. If you follow your job description, you are doing what you are paid to do but if you go over it, you are basically manifesting your future role by behaving and owning that senior role that you want, before it’s given to you. Once you go over and beyond in showing results to your Managers, you have a better chance of getting ‘that’ role by acting as the change-maker/ senior person/ manager. So you don’t wait for permission, you get the job done. Show your results, your data and your work that contribute towards the fact that you are making a difference in the company for the better in order to achieve their goals.
Being in sync with your Managers: Behave and be in sync with your Manager or the person you look up to in your organization. For example: if they are networking, you should start networking and finding out ways you can contribute to their efforts. It’s not about working 24/7, its about being available when my CEO needs me, it’s about being in sync with them. Being on the same page as your CEO/ Manager leads to connections and learning which in turn lead you to understanding what those goals and strategies are.
Some of the rookie mistakes that I see happening is that a lot of people working clock in only what their job description asks them to do, but expect to get promoted, or to be work on higher roles, or expect to be partner one day. For this to actually be a reality, they need to show results and be consistent with these results. Discipline and consistency is the key and it’s a big sign of maturity and trust; that people can trust you to achieve certain things over a period of time. Another mistake would be expectation of things to be given to you- the expectation for opportunities to fly in on magic carpet or for someone to show you a playbook on opportunities lying around. Do your digging, and grab them the first chance you get.
That is how we decide on who is irreplaceable on the long run and answers the question- “Whom can I afford to lose?”