Have you often wondered how much you are worth to your organization? Have you ever wondered why humility compensates for lack of competence?
In a workplace, there are three categories of performers based on their value: those who contribute surplus value, those who contribute moderate value, and those who deliver insignificant value.
The Surplus Value Employees
Often, we have a few employees approximately 5 out of 25 who are delivering exceptional unconscious competencies. They are highly celebrated because they outperform expectations. They are the sun and stars. No matter where you put them within the organization, they usually deliver surplus value. Derek J. de Solla Price, stated in Price’s law that, “50% of the work done or productivity in any field is delivered by the square root of the total number of contributors”. In an organization of 100 staff, just about 10 are delivering 50% of the results. It sounds abstract you might think.
The Moderate Value Employees
Most employees, approximately 15 out of 25 are tolerated. Their contribution is just a little significant compared to their income. While the surplus value employees are highly competent, the moderate value employees are intellectually humble and willing to learn from them. To keep their job, these moderate value employees deliver at least the minimum value and work harder to improve.
The Insignificant Value Employees
As an organization grows in size beyond 25 employees, there is an exponential increase in the number of mediocre employees and an incremental increase in the number of surplus value employees. The Insignificant Value employees are a liability. They add little to no value and when detected, they are often shown the way out of the organization.
VALUE AUDIT
How aware is your value to the organization? How does this knowledge of your value contribute to your income?
‘Humility before Profit’ is what I coined to describe a pathway by which an employee can justify their demand for more reward for their efforts. We often think we are being cheated by employers without providing data to justify our position. Take a Value Audit assessment of yourself and find a way to use the information profitably. Here are the items:
- Asset Assessment: Why do I think I am an asset to the organization?
- Goodwill Assessment: What goodwill (attitude, mindset, extra-mile mentality) do I possess that contributes to the organization’s goals?
- Productivity Assessment: How well have I performed against the key performance indicators?
- Ownership Assessment: What am I doing to position myself as an ambassador, vision, and mission promoter of the organization?
When you can carry out your Value Auditing, your confidence for profitability will be well assured. Remember Lao Tzu’s words, “Knowing others is intelligence. Knowing yourself is wisdom”.
Call to Action
I wrote a book, “The Pathways of Highly Successful Global Teachers” which explored 20 different countries’ contexts where 23 intrapreneurs used the knowledge of their value to transform their organizations and increase their own profitability. The book is available for purchase. You can reach out on Whatsapp at +2348039147549
