• I have a couple of different thoughts:

    I try to become valuable to a dept/company- not invaluable. Being invaluable means I created a position with no room to advance. Valuable means the right folks know what I do without me needing to stuff an ego with chest pounding (we all know that type 🙂 )- that's where reviews, bonuses & raises acknowledge my work. Knowing most people last 2 years or so in a position on average, a job just preps me for the next career challenge. Keeping things in order, documented, making time to cross train keeps me replaceable. It also makes me valuable as an asset. I don't work in a silo (when an issue is resolved, "try it now" isn't good enough of an explanation). I've seen a former enterprise drop 2,500 pink slips on colleagues desks 1 week before Christmas and it stuck: We are all rereplaceable so I use a job to make me more hireable the very next day- every day and that is my focus. As my skills get better, so does my level of proficiency at the current job. Make my skills more dedesirable than the next guys.

    It's a competitive thing with me: Yes, I'm replaceable but I'll make sure 1 person alone can't replace me. The last couple jobs replaced me with 2 to 2 1/4 new full timers, (2 as new hires) and that's a form of flattery especially when I cross trained my replacement and it's been established "things are in good order", "best practices are being followed"- and it still takes 2 people to replace me because of skills and proficiencies that are unique to me. That's flattery in my mind.