10 ways to make yourself indispensable at work.

The rumor mill was working overtime and "structured reorganization" was the new buzzword fueling the activity. Actually, it didn't make any difference what they called it, the reality was that thousands of employees would be laid off over the next several months. The news had Sharon James (a

To help her sift through her options, James asked a more senior-level manager in another department to help her develop a personal strategic plan. Of course, no one is truly indispensable. But, James' goal was to make herself so irreplaceable to the division that her managers couldn't afford to lose her.

Before drafting her plan, James assessed her strengths, weaknesses and value to her department. She also analyzed her competition. Then she developed a plan with both long- and short-term strategies to increase her value within the operation. Below is her list of "fast-start" actions that could help any potential victim of downsizing to secure his or her job.

1. Take ownership of all your responsibilities by seeing your department as a company, a profit center and yourself as president of your company.

As president, you must consider the balance sheet in every decision you make. Will this action help to increase the bottom, line, or will it be seen as an asset or a liability? The president of any organization must be a visionary and see the bigger picture. Perhaps you'd like to order more inventory because you hate having to shop around for bargains on a tight schedule. But think again. Do you really need them right now? Or could you wait a couple of months? What decision would the person in charge make?

A chief executive, the experts say, would consider effective cost control and know that an excessive inventory is not cost-effective. He or she would take into account the total departmental needs over the next two months and order not in advance but "just in time" to cover the need.

2. Take responsibility for your career advancement. In a "right-sizing" workplace, don't expect anyone else to protect or guide your career. In times of transition, individuals must be proactive and look out for themselves.

Burnetta Williams, managing director of corporate finance at Federal Express in Memphis, feels that the best way to secure your job and career mobility is to develop a knowledge base that few others have: "When I was hired, I didn't have a firm job description. The company knew it wanted someone with my credentials [undergrad degree from Yale University and a master's from the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology], and I knew that I wanted to work for FedEX. While I carved out my niche on the job, I developed an internal database that no one else has. The fact that I had all of this information in my head has saved my job several times. I gained this knowledge by, not just reading, but studying trade journals, taking courses and keeping abreast of the financial industry trends."

In fact, Williams credits her success to the practice of "benchmarking," years before it was a popular management activity. "If we had a problem that I didn't know how to solve, I would find someone in another company who may have had the same problem and find out how they solved it. Then I would initiate that procedure in our company."

After almost 11 years at the company, Williams is still the vanguard of no information and well-known for her unique database of knowledge.

3. Maintain a positive attitude while protecting your job. "We sabotage our careers with negative self-talk and the fear of failure or being displaced," says Deborah L. Randolph, manager of corporate training and education at The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co. in Hartford, Conn. "Once that begins to happen, our actions support our words. When things seem to pile up and I'm feeling stressed, I take a breath and think of all that I have to be thankful for."

Randolph advises overworked professionals to look for ways to overcome their obstacles and never entertain the notion that a situation is impossible to beat. If you don't have "a positive attitude, your boss may decide that the office is a more optimistic place without you," she explains.

4. Become a renaissance executive or a multipurpose manager and learn to save money by hiring outside experts or consultants when necessary.

In a leaner organization, holding on to employees just in case the work load picks up may not be a wise management decision. If you need extra hands or extra brainpower, learn how to juggle outside contractors, rather than keeping extra bodies on the payroll. Figure out the cost savings you have accrued and wage an all-out campaign to keep management informed.

Rod Abraham, president of R.E. Abraham & Associates, a Princeton, N.J.-based management consultant firm that specializes in helping organizations undergo transitions, explains: "Doing your job is not good enough in these tough times. You've got to position yourself as an integral member of the management team. Become an efficient' downsizer' rather than a |downsizee.' Let your superiors see that you can run your department more efficiently with fewer people, if that's your mandate."

5. Find a task that you can do better than it's being done. Then ask your boss for the challenge, including any training that you need, and rewrite your job description. In a reorganized corporate world, there are many responsibilities that slip through the cracks. Don't let that happen to you division. Instead, be alert and pick up the assignments that you see being neglected. Often, downsizing survivors become disenchanted with the company and slipshod in their work. So anyone who really produces can easily look like a star.

6. Don't be an ostrich. Launch an ongoing, targeted campaign to explain who you are and what you do. Many managers think that if they are quiet and blend in with the background, no one will notice them, and they'll be overlooked when the ax falls. Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, you should become an elephant. The elephant is one of the few animals without an enemy. Being bigger helps. Don't be afraid to broadcast your contributions to your organization's goals, objectives and, most of all, bottom line. But do this wisely. Braggarts aren't perceived as team players.

7. Excel in an area that your boss is weak in. Joseph Gibbons, a consultant at Towers Perrin in New York, understands the true value of this advice. He explains: "We design mammoth training programs for large corporations. My boss is an excellent editor and quickly hones in on what is missing in a proposal. However, she is weak in writing first drafts, an unpleasant task for her that takes up quite a bit of time. So I write all the first drafts, get them to her, and in 45 minutes she will make all necessary changes."

8. Become a company spokesperson at community events and professional association meetings. Says David Snipe, a Rye, N.Y., attorney and consultant on human resources issues surrounding a diverse work force: "My work with the Now York black state legislators when I was an attorney at Avon Products provided good public relations and contacts for the company. People often referred to me as |Mr. Avon.'" Representing your company at outside functions helps solidify your corporate image. But make sure that folks inside know what you are doing. Leveraging your contacts will improve your value with the company.

9. Be an effective team player. Always present a united front and support your boss and the team, but internally be independent. This was brought home to Cynthia Cuyjet, president of Chicago-based Cuyjet Management Consultants Inc., when a client mentioned how two of his staff members were having a disagreement. The insecure employee soon began to personalize the matter, taking swipes at his counterpart. Even if that person was right, Cuyjet explains, his boss viewed the insecure employee as a "back-stabber" and not a team player. The boss began to wonder what this employee might be saying about him.

An effective team player, she adds, must openly support the department, the project and the boss, and not get involved in petty fights that jeopardize the success of the organization.

10. Invest in yourself and your career. Taking training and development courses in your areas of expertise and in management are the best way to stay current in your field and provide added-valued services to your company.

For Tom Harrison, director of diversity at Union Carbide Corp. in Danbury, Conn., seminars and workshops helped him develop a portfolio of skills. "When I joined Carbide, my long-term goal was to become valuable to the organization and prepare myself for upper-management and executive positions. Early in my career, I decided that a broad-range of experiences was going to be my strength in the organization."

Over the years, Harrison has easily moved up the ladder at Carbide in a variety of functional areas. He credits his growth to his personal strategic plan, "The first thing I did was to identify key positions across the company--positions that I felt would give me extra value in the company. Since my plan was to be a generalist rather than a specialist, I signed up for company training programs," Harrison recalls. "Once I took 23 different workshops over a period of five to six years. I also took outside educational courses to position myself for jobs in research and development, quality control, manufacturing and human resources. I knew I had to give myself visibility; When someone mentioned Tom Harrison, I wanted people to know who I was."

For Harrison, who enjoys using all his experience to help better position the bottom-line value of work-force diversity to Carbide's management team, the initiative and hard work has paid off. For the insurance manager, Sharon James, the success of her own personal strategic plan is just a matter of time.

Even if you are not running your own business, act like you are. Remember, as president of your own company, you need to keep yourself informed and motivated. Read inspirational books to learn more about management, budgeting and the economy. Be aware of business cycles and how your company is likely to react to inflation, technology shifts and growth spurts. Then seize any opportunity to sell yourself to show people who you are and what you can do. As you gain visibility, give something back to the organization. Share information. Help your department become a viable contributor. You'll find that you have become indispensable by being indispensable.

Indispensable Investments Checklist

In this era of corporate down sizing, it's essential to keep abreast of workplace news and trends. Today, none of us can afford not to stay on top of our fields. * Subscribe to The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Business Week. * Tune in to Wall Street Week * Listen to All Things Considered (National Public Radio). * Stretch your mind by taking a course in futuristic thinking or global marketing at your local college or university. * Read motivational self-help books, such as Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice by Dennis kimbro and Napoleon Hill; Ballantine Books, New York, 363pp, $20 (hardcover), $5.95 (paperback). * The Black Manager: Making It in the Corporate World by Floyd Dickens Jr. and Jacqueline B. Dickens, AMACOM (American Management Association), 446pp, $22.95.

Testing Your Indispensability

Test your value to your company. The following quiz can help measure your level of indispensability. You answers are graded on a scale of 1 to 5.1 means you do not practice this standard and 5 means that this is a strength for you.

1. I take ownership of my responsibilities and continually look at the bigger picture before I make a decision.

2. I take responsibility for my career.

3. I maintain a positive attitude, even when I'm stressed.

4. I am a renaissance executive and can effectively manage outside contractors.

5. I have identified a task that I can do better than it's being done now and have asked my boss for the challenge.

6. I strategically broadcast my accomplishments.

7. I make it a practice to be good at what my boss is not good at.

8. I represent the company in outside organizations.

9. I am an effective team player.

10. I continually invest in myself and my career.

40-50 points: You are indispensable. 30-39 points: Identify five areas to improve upon. Below 30 points: Polish up your resume.