On Leadership: Is Your Goal to be Invaluable - or Unnecessary?

I’d argue that striving to make yourself invaluable does your company a huge disservice. I’d aim for making yourself unnecessary.

If your goal as a leader is to make yourself invaluable to your company, you’re probably in good company. Once anyone survives an interview process or earns a promotion, it’s only natural to want to be seen as a contributor who delivers real value. You want the behind-your-back talk to be that your decisions are brilliant, your performance is stellar, and the company is so fortunate to have you around.

I get it. It feels good to feel needed. But I’d argue that striving to make yourself invaluable does your company a huge disservice. I’d aim for making yourself unnecessary. This may sound counterintuitive, but hear me out.

I’ve been with LifeLock for over a year, and as chief marketing officer, my job is to recruit a team and build a marketing system that…just runs.

Which type of leader do you prefer?

Why this approach? If you read my first post on LinkedIn, you may recall my main point on leadership: A leader is only as good as their team. And which do you think attracts better people—a leader who’s always trying to make themselves invaluable? Or, one that’s trying to work himself or herself out of a job.

Think about it. The “invaluable” leader likely approaches their work with a “me first” attitude. Not only will such a leader tend to micromanage those who work for them, they’ll also tend to take credit for team successes. “Look at what I’ve accomplished.” “Look at what I delivered for the company.” “Look at my results.”

A leader is only as good as their team.

But the leader who’s trying to make themself unnecessary knows that the primary job is to develop people, set a vision, and remove obstacles. It’s all about the team. And forgive me the sports cliché, but it applies: There is no “I” in team. “Look at what the team did on this project.” “Look at what we delivered.” “Look at how far we’ve come.”

“We” just sounds better, doesn’t it?

Been there, done that

Before becoming LifeLock’s CMO, I held the same title at a previous protection plan company for consumer electronics and appliances. My goal there? To work myself out of a job. To make my role obsolete. That’s just what happened.

We—the team—grew company revenue 3x. And when I announced I was leaving, the CEO decided not to hire a replacement CMO. Instead, he provided growth opportunities and new responsibilities to several members of my marketing team. Mission accomplished!

Any successful leader will tell you that—done correctly—developing your team is a ton of work.

Does this mean I don’t work hard or add value? Absolutely not. Any successful leader will tell you that—done correctly—developing your team is a ton of work. You want to teach them to fish, right? Not catch the fish for them. Plus, I’m building a high-performing marketing function. My approach is to focus on scalability and longevity—attributes that will outlast me and serve LifeLock well in the long run.