There’s a common piece of career advice that will stall your career if you’re not careful. It often comes from a well-meaning person—a friend, family member, or close mentor who wants the best for your career:
There’s a common piece of career advice that will stall your career if you’re not careful. It often comes from a well-meaning person—a friend, family member, or close mentor who wants the best for your career:
In order to secure your job and position yourself for bigger, better roles, you need to “make yourself indispensable.”
In reality, making yourself indispensable is the best way to keep yourself where you are in your job, rather than advancing.
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When you’re so amazing in that one role that most people can’t imagine you doing anything else, they won’t want you to do anything else. Your manager relies on you so much that they won’t part with you, and you’re at risk of being pigeonholed.
I remember being in a management discussion about how we could backfill a role that was about to be open. Another manager suggested we promote Steven, but his boss jumped in and said, “Don’t touch Steven—I need him right where he is!”
None of us dared suggest Steven for other roles after that. Steven was about to be stuck in his role for a while without knowing it. One day he would look back and wonder how he went from being a star to being passed over for better roles.
This effect is often made worse by another piece of well-meaning advice: “You’re doing a great job, just keep doing what you’re doing”. This is what managers often say when they are too nice (or too lazy) to come up with feedback that will help you develop.
While that feels reassuring and can even make sense in the next quarter or two, it does nothing to prepare you for the next level. How can you grow if you don’t know how to change? If your boss is telling you that every year—to stay where you are, just keep doing what you’re doing—then it’s time to get some proper feedback to help you move forward (or a new boss!).
Could that be happening to you right now?
So, how do you perform highly without getting caught in the workplace equivalent of Groundhog Day? And how do you free yourself if you’re already in the trap?
The key is to be indispensable for what you can become, and not for what you currently do. Here are four ways to do that.
Don’t risk stalling your career by being so indispensable in your current role that you can’t move onward and upward when you want to. Be known for being indispensable for your potential, not your performance.
