Indispensable

11.15.10

Indispensable

What differentiates average, hardworking people from those an organization deems "indispensable?"  

Is it unique abilities?  Is it some magical element of emotional intelligence?  Is it a superpower?

No.

The difference between average folks and the indispensable team members is simply this:

Decision.

Indispensable people are formerly average performers, who made a decision to take on every single situation as a unique opportunity to add value.  

Boss interaction?  A fantastic opportunity to hone skills of "leading up."

Staff interaction?  A perfect opportunity to hone the skills of "servant leadership."

Every social interaction.  Every family interaction.  Every work project that comes their way... all are filtered through this single, forgone conclusive decision to be indispensable.

Think about this: You have 4 waiters on your staff.  Business is slow, and you must lay one off.  3 of them are hard workers, and the 4th is good.  The 4th, however, has shown the ability to problem solve.  Case and point:  when an irate customer started yelling last week, the 4th waiter stepped in and turned this customers "frown upside down."  When scheduling issues arise, the 4th waiter is always on point with several solutions that could create a win-win.  The 4th waiter's conversations (between staff and customers) reflect his sensitivity to the kitchen's specials (and thus costs) to help the restaurant profit more per patron with every meal.  

Who do you keep?

I would note that rarely will you see a waiter job description ask a waiter to analyze costs of the kitchen to amplify profits, or even step in to collaborate with peers to coordinate schedules... but the INDISPENSABLE person doesn't need to be told to add value.  

They decide to.

Decide to.