Are You Replaceable?

The infamous reality show “Dance Moms” came out in my last two years of formal dance classes. Whether you loved or hated the show and the ripple effect it has had on the dance community, I’ve slowly come to the realization that Abby Lee Miller was right – at least about one thing – “Everyone’s replaceable.”

Wait a minute…doesn’t this stand in direct opposition to “unicorn talent,” the belief that all talent is unique and unrepeatable? Is this a melodramatic closing to this blog?

No – to both.

The Harsh Reality

Despite the popular advice given to interns, you cannot make yourself truly indispensable. You can make yourself a valuable asset, but if you won the lottery (or died tomorrow), your organization would carry on just fine. Companies develop talent and maintain succession plans for just this reason. They recognize they will lose talent through poaching, attrition, retirement, lack of growth opportunities and other mitigating factors. Documenting institutional knowledge and long-term incentive plans provide some insulation.

When a sizable gap occurs, organizations pay the more expensive market rate to replace the headcount, distribute the work across the team or redesign the role to highlight a new skill or strategic imperative. Often, the solution involves some combination of the three. The new incumbent will not be a carbon copy, and the organization survives. In fact, it is often richer for experiencing the variety, having retained the best of the former and embracing the diversity of the newer.

Phew, organizations will be okay! Maybe a bit more financially constrained but better off in the long run. As they say, “It’s just business.”

Now, what about the individual? People often learn they are replaceable when they are laid off. Valued one day and gone the next, despite years of dedicated service. Very little can soften that blow.    

The Truth

Despite being replaceable, something more important supersedes. You and your contributions were valued. If not by the decision makers, then by those you worked with closely and those who your work ultimately benefited. Someone else may be doing your job – or a version of it – now, but that doesn’t erase how you did it, what you achieved or the lives you touched along the way, with a laugh or a life lesson.

Your value may not be financed by its former source; however, that doesn’t erase the value itself. If one organization saw your worth, so will another. Your employer is replaceable, too. Diverse experiences will increase your value, broaden your skills and insulate you, while not making you invincible. 

To the Point

While you as a human being are not replaceable, your job is. Never lose sight of yourself and your value.

Image sources: TV Overmind and GIFs courtesy of Wix