I’m receiving some great questions about my new book. I realize that just as I’ve had to redefine accountability as “the ability to count on others and ourselves,” the word indispensable has a few antiquated definitions. Here’s another response regarding “Making Yourself Indispensable:”
Just as accountability has a connotation among many as a “hammer” to blame people when they make a mistake, it may mean that for some, we have to redefine that indispensability is NOT self-centered selfishness.
It is very fascinating to me the generational interpretations of the word indispensability based on historic uses. This impacted me when my publisher chose the title of the book. 30 years ago as a relative number, job security meant something different than today. It was common that people worked for the same company for 30 or even 40 years. They didn’t have a concern of job layoffs unless you were a poor performer. Then, being indispensable meant that you modified the job in such a way as to make yourself indispensable because no one else could do it and you made sure to not develop others. Of course, that is not “real” indispensability and most organizations fought this posture by making sure people were cross-trained and used standard practices. In a world where job security was high, being indispensable equated to self-centered.
Today, the average stay on a job for the younger generation is less than 5 years. Organizations are restructuring every 2 to 4 years. So, even if you don’t lose your job, you may “lose” your position and be restructured. So, people are feeling a new sense of “dispensability” unlike in generations past. People are wanting to add more security in their careers and thus, I am typically getting a very strong reaction by people who first lay their eyes on the book saying, “I want to know how to be indispensable. I need that for me!”
That is the one reaction I never received with my previous book, “The Power of Personal Accountability.” People never said, “I want to be more accountable” as a typical reaction. People generally want others to be more accountable. So, the link between accountability and being indispensable is the key. The book is titled: “Making Yourself Indispensable: The Power of Personal Accountability” for that reason. The only way to become indispensable is through being accountable to others and yourself.
Please share your thoughts below.
Best,
Mark