Nurse Leader Insight: Why Being Indispensable Could Stall Your Career

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

“Being a part of success is more important than being personally indispensable.” Pat Riley

One of my former graduate students called me recently for career advice. She is a critical care nursing director in a large healthcare system who has been in her role for ten years. She recently applied for an Assistant VP position and was not selected. She requested an appointment with her CNO to ask what she could or should do to enhance her chances of being promoted. In the course of the conversation, her CNO told her that she was “indispensable” in her current role and would be difficult to replace. “I guess in a strange way – she thought she was flattering me” – my former student observed “but I may have to leave my organization to get ahead”. Her dilemma is an interesting one especially for mid-level leaders who are very successful in their roles. Senior leaders may worry about whether they can be replaced and the disruption it could cause to the organization. While feeling indispensable may feel good, there is also a downside as it can stall your career.

In an article in the December issue of Nurse Leader, author Karen Vestal discussed the issue of indispensability. She pointed out compelling reasons that leaders should work NOT to be irreplaceable. Three major ones include:

You can get painted into a career corner as a victim of your own success.
You may feel a need to be a 24/7 leader even when on vacation which over time will exhaust you.
You may be seen as a nurse leader who does not develop others and is not a good candidate for a senior leadership role.

The single best strategy to avoid this dilemma is to build a strong bench of potential leaders within your own staff who can replace you. Leaders sometimes believe that to give away power will make them less powerful when the quite the opposite is true. You want your senior nurse leaders to see you as a leader who is able to effectively delegate and coach others. Nurse leaders often tell me that there is no one on their unit who could successfully take their role. If you find yourself in this position – you need to ask yourself the following questions:

Do you look for leadership potential when you recruit new staff?
Do you plant the seeds of a leadership mindset in your staff?
Do you encourage staff to take on leadership responsibilities?
Do you have a succession plan for your unit?

As Dr. Vestal points out, “getting stuck in a role because you are the only one who can do it well is not a good thing.” Part of your legacy should be to develop others. Even more important, when you interview for that next promotion opportunity, you can confidently present a plan for your own leadership succession in the event that you are selected.

Read to Lead

Vestal, K. (2013). The Great Unknown: Span of Control and Direct Reports. Nurse Leader. 11(6), 14-15.