The Value in Being Invaluable at Work

As We Work

07-02-2023 • 21 mins

Many of us were taught that the secret to workplace success is making yourself indispensable. You can’t be fired if you’re the only one who can do the job, right? But leadership expert Liz Wiseman says being indispensable is actually a trap that sucks up your time and keeps you stuck without any room for job growth. She wants us all to focus on a different goal: becoming the person who steps up when needed and helps others do their jobs better. She calls it being invaluable. And with an uncertain economy leading to layoff worries, she’ll give us the tools we need to make sure our bosses know our value without piling on the extra work we didn’t ask for.  Send us your stories about work and careers! Email aswework@wsj.com, or leave us a voicemail at 212-416-2394. Further Reading: How to Succeed on Your First Day on a New Job  When Companies Do Layoffs, Is It Really ‘Last In, First Out?’  Workplace Report  Careers Newsletter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices