Make yourself Indispensible
Posted on September 09, 2016 by Swati S, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
What's your marketing plan? "How do you know what to work on so your work is relevant in the larger context of the org vision?"
Too much competition, too much noise, too much to do, to less time, too many aspirations, too less money, delayed salary hike, postponed promotions; the result? Insecurity, fear, anxiety and lesser success than you could get. This cycle is viscous enough to put anyone in a complex trap to break out and emerge.
The key is to “know your route out”
The route for each one of us is going to be different. So, how do we find out- which is the best route for us and what are the routes available? The best way that I have learnt in my experience and through coaching various executives is to find out-
Why your company should retain you at any cost? How would you be indispensable?
Once you have the answer to this question- the journey is full of opportunities, awareness, choices and thoughtful decisions. Life is mostly choices and not chances then. Wouldn’t that be an awesome place to be? Absolutely.
So how do you become indispensable so you never operate out of fear or insecurity, so that you are always a class apart in your employee grade/level and year end ranking? Here are some tips:
Apart from the usual- dress well, look well, talk well, present well, be charming, be attractive and be approachable: yes, all these matter, and we all know, they do!
Make sure you know all Ws of your work: What, why, where, when and “how”. It is important to know your KRAs and measures of success of those KRAs. Always make sure to have a black and white definition of measure of success, so you can define a clear path to achieve more than that to get that exceed rating, even without consciously chasing it.
Selling is important. Haven’t you ever got that feedback? Market yourself well. But the content you market is more important than marketing itself. I.e. You may market your work around your KRAs or job goals; but that’s not going to interest anyone- would it? its your job.. What would be interesting to leaders and people who can promote you is: How are you increasing the value of the organization? i.e. are you innovating, automating, driving change which disrupts the status quo to elevate your team/BU/org up the value chain?
However, just telling the story around what you are doing isn’t going to keep their interest- would it? Numbers matter too! So you would need to make sure, you quantify the ROI of your work against the efforts you or team you might be leading is putting in. What also is important is your Personal ROI. Are you returning 3X times your salary (consider that a thumb rule to calculate if you’re indispensable) through your KRAs + Extra work you are doing? If yes, then we are talking. And these need to be proven hard core numbers. No stories. Just facts.
Timing matters.. When do you tell your story? Retention is a key factor that plays when people write your review or calibrate your performance. Recency matters. Make sure you keep your bosses apprised of your work throughout the year but time it right so they have you on top of their minds!
Who do you market to? team members, Immediate boss, his boss, his boss and that’s it? What if the whole BU or project gets shelved and you are asked to leave, even though you have most hot skills and amazing list of results. It is imperative to expand your network. Go beyond your immediate group, identify a list of influencers within the organization, find connecting dots to how your work impacts their work, link and connect. This will make sure you are known and recognized outside your nest. Hence, increasing your market value and backing up!
It sounds so simple, isn’t it? However, most of us can’t do and stay caught in the myriad daily transactions missing the bigger picture. How do you know what to work on so your work is relevant in the larger context of the org vision? How do you convert your work to plain numbers representing your personal ROI? Who do you talk to ? How do you present?
What’s your marketing plan?
If you are stuck after reading this post, I can be of help..
