Skilled Migrant Professionals October 2014 | Page 18
Career
The Art
of Being
Indispensable
Go-to individuals are professionals who consistently operate at the
top of their game. These high performers are rewarded with handsome
remuneration in whatever profession or industry they have mastered.
According to American business journalist George Anders, these professionals are sometimes referred to as indispensable and usually possess
five traits in common. “They thrive on expanding their skills, engage in
solving ongoing problems, are self-starters who set the tempo at work or
in their personal lives and deliver more value than is expected of them.”
Find out how you fare in the two-minute Indispensable Test! Rate
yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 by honestly responding to the following
five questions.
1 = No recent evidence in my life
10 = I have two or three recent examples for each trait to substantiate
my claim.
1. I keep expanding my skills every year
2. I solve problems that seem to have no solutions
3. I am a self-starter or closer at work
4. I set the tempo at work or in my personal life
5. I deliver more value than is expected from me
If you scored seven or above for each question then you are well on
your way to being a high performer. You thrive on identifying areas in
your life that need developing and then working towards expanding
those undeveloped skills. You take responsibility for your personal development and are up-to-date with the necessary knowledge and trends
in your industry. Author Seth Godin urges us: “To approach our jobs as
emotionally engaged artists, crusading for new ideas.”
If you scored eight or above for question two, then you will never actually retire because you provide ongoing solutions for co-workers and
society at large by delivering knowledge, providing companionship, and
stimulating personal growth. You will also never ‘sell-out’, because you
see every challenge as an opportunity to serve others and grow.
If you scored nine or above for questions three to five, you are the
kind of professional that your boss will hold onto for as long as possible.
You are the type of team player that colleagues will always want to work
with. You make this happen because on a subconscious level, you have
made the firm choice to succeed in what you do.
For more on this topic, please visit www.smpmagazine.com.au
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www.smpmagazine.com.au | October 2014
Davies Chibale, Director, Engineered
for Success HR Pty Ltd
Being indispensable begins with:
1. Committing to continued learning by attending seminars and professional workshops, reading books and professional journals etc.
• When did you last attend a professional workshop or seminar?
• When did you last read a good book for professional or personal
development?
2. Engaging in giving ongoing, innovative solutions to co-workers and
others.
3. Being a self-starter, innovating, and following through.
4. Setting the tempo and leading the way, while also being proactive,
focused, and passionate.
5. Delivering more value than others expect of you. Going above and
beyond the call of duty.
If you are working for a company that you don’t believe deserves
the best of you, then ask yourself whether the problem is with you, the
company, or both? Remember, like attracts like and success is a choice!