How indispensable are you?
Today, less strategy, and more psychology. Read on.
Filtering out
This is the interior of Sonido, the cafe where I get coffee most mornings. It’s run by a charming Colombian couple, Carolina and Santiago, and their equally charming staff.
They not only make some of the best coffee in a very heavily contested hipster barista strip of Melbourne, but their little cafe is an eccentric oasis of Latin culture, home-spun decoration, and repurposed charity shop finds.
But, I was in there with my son, Jasper, who enjoys filling any moment of downtime with a game. So, while we waited for coffee he said, “Dad, I’ll cover your eyes and you tell me what’s on the wall”.
I was utterly shocked at my inability to recall even 10% of what’s there. I’ve been in there literally hundreds of times, and most of what’s in the photo above I don’t even register. I swear I’d never seen the flamingo or the mask. Now, why is this?
Is it lack of caffeine (I’m in there before drinking coffee)? Is it that I’m generally unobservant? Or that I’m preoccupied with my day ahead?
I don’t think it’s any of these. It’s that we have biases for what we notice. I believe each of us ‘sorts’ the world around us based on five features: places, people, information, things and activity. Jasper notices people the most, then things and activity. I notice information first, and places and people second. So, yes, I’m very familiar with the wall map — and have spent hours studying it, but I’d never even noticed the accordionist or the shoes.
Question: What are your biases for filtering? How do you compensate for those within your team?
Make yourself valuable
A colleague, Andrea, employs a contractor, let’s call her Isla, who’s about to leave to have her second child. Isla intends to take 3 - 4 months off and, as a contractor, doesn’t get maternity leave. Nor is Andrea therefore obliged to re-employ her.
But she will.
Isla loves her work. And, more specifically, she loves working for Andrea. And, so, Isla is already coming up with things she can do while ‘on leave’. Andrea protests that she’ll have plenty to do with a new baby, but Isla insists that she can work off-line on special projects, supervise training of junior staff on specialised software that the business uses.
The cynics would say, “Yes, Isla’s smart to defend her territory against a new entrant whom Andrea will have to employ during her absence”. But, knowing them both, there’s much more at play.
Isla is that uncommon contractor who genuinely thinks beyond the job role, beyond the contract, and the scope of work. She asks, “What’s important to the business? What’s important to the business owner?” And, then, she moves into that space.
Andrea thinks she’s indispensable, which is precisely how Isla wants to be regarded.
Question: How do you incentivise your people to increase their value to your customers, your organisation, and to you?
Be easy
OK, this last one’s short, because it doesn’t have to be long.
Does Hollywood love Aussies? It’s an easy ‘yes’ as you can probably name Nicole, Hugh, the Hemsworths (yes, all three of them), and even one of the Stranger Things leads (who’s from Perth). Plus many, many more. But why so many?
An acquaintance who works in movies in LA says, “Aussies are very appealing to us”, but it’s not about the accent, or that our dollar is only worth 65c. It’s because of three things: work ethic, humility, and ease. These three factors enable Aussies (whether they’re on-screen or not), to cut through the politics and BS with grace, and with reputation intact.
Question: What do you do that makes you easy to work with?
Enjoy something on the screen that’s got an Aussie in it, and I look forward to being with you again next Friday.
Remember to click the heart, as it’s how I know you’ve enjoyed reading. And, of course, I’m keen to expand readership of 5MSM, so don’t be shy about sending a link out to your metaverse.
Until next Friday, enjoy the weekend,
Andrew