There is nothing wrong with a little job security. Security, the need to avoid pain and hopefully achieve some level of pleasure, is our number one human need. Most of our deepest rooted Inner Most Dominating Thoughts are rooted in a moment where we feel insecure. And during times like these the idea of finding security anywhere let along at work can seem really daunting. So I thought I’d share 6 tips today that if you practiced them would give you your best opportunity to find security at work.
- COMMIT TO ONGOING LEARNING
You need to work on yourself just as much as you work on your job. You want to commit to ongoing learning and improvement. This can come in a number of ways. Look at yourself from a few perspectives. Is there internal work that you can do in order to overcome beliefs, stories, trauma, and other internal conflict that is holding you back. Or maybe it is your soft skills, like communication or negotiation that may be the key to adding more value, or maybe is a technical skills that could be the key like programming, or AI engineering.
The truth is that all these perspectives will at some point in your journey come into play. So read a book, or do a course, or a seminar…or maybe find someone who is successful in this area and ask them to mentor or coach for a small investment.
Focus on areas that are a problem or challenge to your company or business but that interest you, don’t be the one that uses the conversations around the office cooler to engage in but let it highlight the opportunities to add more value. Also, make a habit out of saying “Yes” to new experiences that challenge and stretch you.
“The more you learn the more you earn.”
- BE A LEADER BEFORE (DON’T WAIT FOR PERMISSION)
If you want to become indispensable, then focusing on your leadership skills will be a key area to focus on. Leadership is not something that can be outsourced or automated. It requires guts and risk. So, most people don’t do it….they love the idea of leadership but the practice of it is a weight that no one wants to carry.
Develop and demonstrate your leadership skills by demonstrating the characteristics of a leader and being solution oriented, decisive, maximizing your current resources, being outcome focused, influential…etc
The most important area of being a strong leader is to be a good communicator. So it is important to keep working on this skill.
- BE A TEAM FIRST PLAYER
When you a see a successful team in sport notice that when a point or goal is scored the first thing the scoring player does is point. Contrast this with a losing team and what the scoring player does. The most value players in any sport including business celebrate the teams success over their own. Always strive to find ways to move the team forward…often this means doing the little things right… the stuff that doesn’t often come with immediate fanfare. I was once told do the things that matter, not things that are easy.
“Being indispensable is not the same as being irreplaceable.”
I had a mentor once, Real Bergevin that once told me in an offer to show me how to be more valuable…”Figure out what keeps me up at night and help me find a way to get the business to solve it, then figure out what you do for me and help someone else learn to do it.” Brilliant advice.
- ASSOCIATE WITH PEOPLE OF IMPACT AND SHOW YOURS
Don’t be afraid to step up. Don’t be afraid to share what you are good at, what special knowledge or insight you may have. Don’t feel bad about selling yourself. Nobody works well in a silo, you need to build relationships with the leaders, the movers and shakers of your company. Find out where their challenges are, and if you have knowledge, or a skillset that can help them…market yourself. There is nothing wrong with this because it is being done from a position of serving.
It will give you the opportunity to show and not just tell. When you are working in a silo or building relationships with those that do not create an impact then you can only have the opportunity to talk. Don’t take…show with your results. There is an old saying that says “build in silence”. Let your results do the talking for you, but find the opportunity to do this first.
If you make a big sale for instance, talk about how you did it….not what you did.
“Work to communicate the value that you, your work, or your skillset can bring to the business.”
- UNDERSTAND YOUR INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS CYCLES
This one, granted, is definitely not as simple as it sounds. Understanding the business and industry cycles will make you more adaptable in the long run. See all business and industry is cylindrical, meaning there is a pattern to it. Understanding these patterns will allow you to anticipate problems and opportunities in advance and that will make you invaluable. All businesses and industries go through times of extreme challenge, and when they get through it, it is transformed forever.
Most people are waiting for the good times to come back, but the return of the industry will never look the same. When you can understand this, you look like a leader, you are able to make an impact, and build your value.
Adaptation is crucial, adaptation only happens through extreme pressure, pain or challenge. Most people don’t even recognise this. They avoid those things. So when the business goes through it’s pivot and has to make less than ideal decisions and ask for commitments that are hard, you will understand and that will make you a valuable team member.
- GIVE MORE & BE WILLING TO PLAY THE GAME NO ONE ELSE WILL
I have been lucky in life to have successful mentors in both sport and business. I played for tremendous coaches and phenomenal entrepreneurs. It is said that there are no traffic jams on the extra mile. In sport, the team that plays the game that the other team doesn’t want always wins. I have been on a lot of teams that shouldn’t have one, except for this philosophy.
To do this you will need to take a certain amount of pride in the little things and in the concept of constant and never ending improvement. It requires something called deliberate focused practice. Everyday.
You need to bring an ownership mentality even if you are not. My first mentor taught me….think of yourself as Mike Johnston Inc…. Think of me as your client, what would you do from that point of view? How would it change what you expected of yourself? How would you show up differently? Would your performance look different then how it looks today?
These six tips will help you become indispensable and if you make a habit of them you should never have to worry, but I wanted to give one last bonus tip for all of you who have gotten to this stage.
BONUS TIP: NO ONE IS TRULY INDISPENSABLE
If you leave, or the organization needs to correct its structure to survive, if it is even slightly functional then it WILL survive without you. So no one is truly indispensable, but if you follow the tips above then you will always be valuable to the marketplace. You will always have more places that would want you…. And in that way you will have security.
Mike Johnston is the Co Founder and Architect of the Evolve Business Community (mjbevolve.com.au) and is the Head Coach at MJB Seminars (www.mjbseminars.com.au)
