How To Be Indispensable in Your Job

You might have a strong case in arguing that no one is indispensable in their job, and i would agree to some extent, especially in today's uncertain jobmarket. So how can you indeed become indispensable in your job? Well, it is really about having a certain mindset that if utilised will enable you to distinguish yourself from the crowd, providing you with confidence and security in your long term career.

I have said in previous articles that in order to succeed in your career you need to think like a business person and not like a mere employee. This is why the solution lies in your thinking and especially how you think of yourself. When you think like an 'employee' it sought of means you place less value on yourself, you rely upon your boss to do everything, he/she pays your wages after all. But when you think like the boss you become indispensable it means you place higher value on yourself you are self sufficient, self motivated, independent, reliable and essentially you are just like the boss. This is not to say employees are not valued, the difference is that though the employee may do those things, working hard and so on, they often do not see themselves in a positive light inside of their own mind, hence they place low value upon themselves.

If you look at football stars today, some might say they have become rather arrogant because of the large sums of money they make, but the point is they actually see themselves as lending their services (just like a consultant might be hired on a contract and paid to work on a certain project) for a period of time after which they would move on to a new team, so in order to get that new contract, that bigger paycheck they work even harder for their current team hoping someone will spot their talents. And so you must do the same as you do not know how long you will be playing on your current team. But whilst you are in the team you need to put in the effort that will get you noticed either inside your company or by people within your industry. Therefore you need to start thinking like a consultant or an agent, unfortunately most people look at their jobs as their final destination point and as a result end up frustrated and miserable.

The term 'Intrapraneur' is the term used to describe an entrepreneur that works inside a business, and in fact i understand that there are some major corporations which have piloted and formalised this theory into practice by having 'intrapraneurs' in their firms, these companies allow their staff to be free in their thinking in the knowledge that any creation which might materialise from their work is equally shared by the company and the individual. This is certainly a new shift of thinking in comparison to the stifiling bureacratic man management style that is so bereft of most organisations today.

The bestselling American author Robert Allen certainly concurs, he mentioned on one of his audio tapes that if you wish to get ahead in the 21st century jobmarket you need to think like an 'intrapraneur' in essence think like a business person, it allows you to see what your boss is seeing. Above all, it will reduce or eliminate the fear that comes from loosing your job or being made redundant knowing that your service to the company was only temporary, long gone are the days when people were guaranteed a job for life. Being indispensable is about knowing your value, your true worth, if you value your skills and ability then people will come looking for you. A very good friend of mine and a man i highly respect, he is a very successful medical doctor in New York city, USA, a specialist in cardiology and the liver. He told me ultimate success in the workplace is when you do not have to worry about finding your next role, the roles come searching for you. Now that is the mindset of an 'intrapraneur.'

See you soon.

Femi