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As long as the pay is good (or better) than in the "valued" path, useful is better.
Exception: I have equity and the decisions made are bad.
You might be valued because you are many things. You might not be valued because of many things. If you are able to be useful and valued, while also being fulfilled and happy personally and professionally -- that's great.
But, there is normally not a direct and clear situation like this in organizations. If there is, enjoy it while you have it. Normally, it's not as direct and clear to assess and understand. You are also part of this equation. The dynamics in an organization are normally not consistent.
Dynamics in organizations can shift quickly. Culture can also mean you could be doing all you can but the situation is no longer good for you for a variety of reasons or good for the organization.
Informed re-evaluation of your own value in your situation, at reasonable points, is vital. You may be not as great as you think you are, you might not be able to feel valued or useful in a changed or toxic environment. You may not care about that stuff. The organization may be incapable of providing any of that validation but, ultimately, it's up to you to decide what you are able to live with and why. How the organization provides whatever for you to contemplate is part of the calculation that must rest on your shoulders -- and that effort is ongoing and important.
According to this definition, being involved more, I'd rather be useful than valued. Like Socrates who went to the market to see what things he doesn't need, I cherish each meeting I am not invited to. It's a blessing. As long as the pay is good (or better) than in the "valued" path, useful is better. Exception: I have equity and the decisions made are bad.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think so. A lot of managers value people who excel at talking big while doing little (if any) useful work, while they ignore the useful people who actually get things done.
Playing office politics right is the most important thing at work. Doing real work is secondary. On other hand as a workhorse I punch occasionally every management’s darling in the face. They don‘t like me, but they know, that somebody must do technical heavy lifting. Of course, I am number one in the layoff’s list :-)
Being a work horse is nice. But if you can’t work with others, that might be one you are on the layoff list
> I had become the go-to person for making things run smoothly, for fixing urgent problems, for delivering. But every time I pushed toward more strategic and ambitious directions, there was a lot of can-kicking and “let’s think about it” that went nowhere. I was incredibly useful to the organization, but not necessarily valued, and at some point, I started feeling a sense of stagnation. Compensation was good, the act…
Everyone can provide value to the world if we accept them for who they are, and what they love and can offer. The issue lies when we, as a society, decides what is valuable and what isn't.
The more rare you are, the more you are valued. You still have to be useful to be valuable though.
In order to acquire those rare skills, an ungodly amount of work is often required. It is also a huge variable. A rare skill today can become useless tomorrow.
Also, beware of indispensable people. "This company needs me" can have all sorts of causes. Maybe you didn't documented things right, maybe you just have a long history with them. It doesn't mean being rare. Being rare is feeling "this skill I have could be of use to any similar company and few people know it".
The skill could be anything. Perfect pitch, excelent document writing, de-escalation, low-level bit shaving.
water is useful. Diamond is valued. So be the diamond, not the water. Unless there's no water around anymore...
At some point later in life, I hope you’ll figure out your own sense of value, true to your being, and decoupled from what others may grant. Your raison d'être.