Career mobility means making yourself replaceable
I have been lucky enough to take on progressively more challenging and high profile projects and roles throughout my career. Sure, lots of that has to do with high-impact delivery and being a good team leader, but I would argue I wouldn't have had quite as many great opportunities if I didn't make myself replaceable. Sounds logical. But put in practice, it feels terrible. Having personally been through layoffs, it's scary to think you might be expendable. And then our egos flip on and there's a real sense that NO ONE will be as awesome as we are in doing whatever that project was.
In one of my earlier roles right after college, I was brand new to the organization, and felt like a fish out of water. Even small tasks felt like climbing a mountain because I had no context and little training. When I figured something out, I felt so proud of each hard won accomplishment that I branded myself as the “indispensable super hero.” No one knew how to do something like me. I was “THE” person to get things done (and made sure I marked my territory). I wanted people to know my value and I kept people in the loop on “my” wins. Here's how it played out. I was a superstar. Within 1 year my colleague was promoted and I was disappointed that I was passed over. What happened was I got sucked into the vortex of being indispensable. I was burned out from getting calls all hours—even on vacation— for questions and issues “only I” could answer. I successfully convinced my managers only I could do my job. Meaning my colleague was considered ready to take the next step and I was stuck running the old stuff. Most importantly in hindsight, I failed to value and highlight the contributions of the team. By far that bothers me more than the missed promotion.
Here's what I know. Those feelings of being irreplaceable are actually pulling you down and making you tethered to something. You don't grow if you don't change. So here are three things I want you to not only think about, but put in place and TALK ABOUT in your work so you can grab onto the next thing and not get stuck to that project you've already conquered (and should move on from.)
Find Your Replacement. The first day I take on a new role, I immediately try to find the person on the team who will replace me. And then I get really close with them and not only mentor and coach and train them, but I SPONSOR them. It’s not enough to help someone in a safe space, be generous with your time, and share your insights. This person needs your endorsement. You have to get other people in the camp of “that person is awesome!” with you. Shine the light. Make lots of noise. Let people know of their talents and contributions. And heck, sponsor more than one person. As you climb, keep lifting others up with you.
It's Not Rocket Science. Don’t make your work inaccessible. And certainly don't brand your work as magical. Trust me. I know rocket scientists. I'm related to one. And most everything is not rocket science. So embrace simplicity and usability as principles of your work product. Adopt practices that are understandable, and repeatable. When you get to work, create a process someone can look at and build on.
When I work with people for the first time, I spend a lot of time investing in them upfront by walking through the rationale and the why of things. I dig into a work breakdown structure for each phase and their portion so they are not only clear on the specifics, but make it a collaborative process so they can own it and make it their own (and even better than I imagined.) Be disciplined with documentation.
Give Away What You Know and How You Do It. I have often joked I could give a KILLER TED talk on "Why SharePoint is Awesome" (though it could be any collaboration platform) because there are so many dimensions to knowledge capture and transfer, coupled with collaboration.
First. You create a collective archive. And I am serious about making it extremely accessible. I don't do status reports in a word doc. I create a Sharepoint list with multiple views. Meeting agendas are built as a "weekly status list" in Sharepoint so you can easily see what the team covered each week with associated status updates. I also have a "Presentation Library" in every platform I create so ANYONE can know "what's that deck you did last week?" and find and build on it. I could go on an on about why the collaboration platform (versus shared folders) is the better way to go. The bottom line is when the team regularly engages in disciplined practices of knowledge capture and collaboration, they are spending less time on tracking things down or reinventing the wheel, and more time on making the end result exceptional.
In closing, be replaceable. The way you talk about your work and the contributions should not be shrouded in mystery and intrigue. What sounds better than, "I started up a new program, put systems in place so that it will live long beyond my tenure, and I'm ready for the next thing to conquer." Explain to people the what and why. Assume you are teaching and training everyone even as you are figuring it out as you go along. And leave a body of work that the successor (who you've sponsored and mentored) can easily pick up and run with. You are setting your next team up for success. Why? It's about leaving a legacy. It's about taking on the next big thing. It's about not staying still. It's about being replaceable.
