Grab your coffee.
I want to talk about something we often celebrate in the workplace that might actually be holding some very talented people back.
Being indispensable.
You know the person.
Maybe you are the person.
Everyone comes to you.
Something breaks?
They call you.
Nobody knows how a process works?
Ask you.
A customer has an unusual problem?
You know what to do.
Someone can't find the file, remember the password, understand the spreadsheet, navigate the system, or figure out why something was done a certain way five years ago?
You know.
And if we're being truthful over coffee…
It feels pretty good to be needed.
There's validation in hearing:
“I don't know what we'd do without you.”
That's supposed to be one of the greatest compliments you can receive at work.
But lately I've been thinking…
What if it isn't?
What if “we couldn't survive without you” is actually a warning?
Because if the organization truly can't function without you doing your current job, what incentive does anyone have to move you out of it?
That's where this gets uncomfortable.
Sometimes we believe we're demonstrating our readiness for promotion by becoming incredibly good at our current role.
And yes, competence matters.
Results matter.
Expertise matters.
But eventually, leadership requires something different.
You have to prove that the work can continue without you.
Take another sip because this is where I think it gets deeper.
Sometimes our inability to delegate isn't really about other people's abilities.
It's about our identity.
We like being the expert.
We like being the person with the answer.
We like knowing people need us.
And sometimes, without even realizing it, we protect that position.
We don't document everything.
We don't teach every shortcut.
We take back work because someone else doesn't do it exactly the way we would.
We say:
“It's just faster if I do it myself.”
And sometimes that's true.
Today.
But what happens tomorrow?
Or next year?
- What happens when you want the promotion?
- What happens when you want to take a two-week vacation?
- What happens when you want to move into leadership?
What happens when an incredible opportunity appears and suddenly everyone realizes:
Nobody else knows how to do your job.
You've created job security.
Unfortunately, you've created it for your current job.
That's a very different thing from creating career mobility.
I've come to believe one of the biggest shifts we make as leaders is moving from:
“Look what I can do.”
to:
“Look what I can help other people do.”
That's leadership.
The best leaders I've known aren't walking encyclopedias guarding everything they've learned.
They multiply knowledge.
They teach.
They coach.
They document.
They delegate.
They create opportunities for someone else to struggle a little, learn, and eventually become capable.
And yes, sometimes that means watching someone do something differently than you would.
That's hard.
Because delegation requires giving up something many high performers love:
Control.
If I do it, I know it'll be right.
If I give it to someone else, they might make a mistake.
They might take longer.
They might ask questions.
They might even discover a better way.
And maybe that last possibility bothers us more than we'd like to admit.
Because there's another uncomfortable question hiding underneath all of this:
What happens if I teach someone everything I know…and they become really good at it?
Good.
That's the point.
Their competence doesn't diminish your value.
Their growth demonstrates it.
That's worth sitting with.
We sometimes think our value comes from possessing knowledge other people don't have.
But the higher you move in leadership, the less your value should come from what only you can do.
Your value increasingly comes from what happens because you were there.
Did people grow?
Did you make the team stronger?
Did you create systems?
Did you develop someone who could eventually take your seat?
Did you leave things better than you found them?
And here's one of my favorite questions for leaders:
If you were promoted tomorrow, who could do your job?
If your answer is:
“Nobody.”
That might not be the flex you think it is.
It might be the work you need to start doing.
So here's what I'm thinking about over coffee this Thursday:
Stop measuring your value by how many things fall apart when you're gone.
Measure it by how many things keep working because of what you built.
- Teach someone.
- Document the process.
- Share what you know.
- Give someone else a chance to become the expert.
- Let them make a few mistakes.
- Coach them through it.
- And while they're learning what you know, start learning what you'll need for wherever you're going next.
Because the goal shouldn't be:
“They can't possibly replace me.”
The goal should be:
“I've prepared someone to replace me because I'm ready for what's next.”
Be valuable.
Be trusted.
Be excellent at what you do.
But don't confuse being needed with being ready to lead.
Sometimes the greatest evidence that you're ready for the next chair…
is that you've prepared someone else to sit in yours.
Happy Thursday all,
-srt
#ThursdayThoughts #CoffeeAndConversation #CareerGrowth #Leadership #ProfessionalDevelopment #WorkplaceWisdom #ReaCoachingandConsulting
