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How to Climb the Ladder Faster - Contractor Edition
68 Plays5 months ago
Want to stand out in the workplace and climb the ladder faster? Brent Oberlink breaks down actionable steps to make yourself indispensable to your company. From embracing the company culture to thinking like a business owner and coaching others, this episode is packed with advice that can reshape your career trajectory. If you're ready to stop being just another employee and start being a vital asset, this one's for you.
#TheBetterContractorPodcast #CareerGrowth #WorkplaceTips #BeIrreplaceable #LeadershipMindset #TeamworkMatters #ProfessionalDevelopment
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Transcript
Introduction to Becoming Irreplaceable
00:00:13
Speaker
fros Welcome back to another edition of The Better Contractor. Today we're going to do another kind of short fire podcast to the point which is the ones I like. So today we're going to talk a little bit about and This is more for the employee that may be an operator, a laborer, someone who just got started, maybe it's a foreman. But making yourself irreplaceably valuable, if that's even a word, I don't even know, irreplaceably valuable to your company. So really, we're in an environment with a labor situation to where this really is not hard to do.
Nine Points for Career Success
00:00:47
Speaker
But there's also a mentality
00:00:50
Speaker
overall in this country that is actually holding some of you guys back. Be open-minded to these nine points because I think it's actually holding you back. And if you want success, if you want to see how to get ahead, this is actually the way to do it. So number one, we'll get right to the point. Number one, be bought in the culture.
00:01:12
Speaker
the production, relationships, longevity, be bought in into the company that you work for. And if that's not the case and you can't do it honestly and genuinely, then you're not working for who you need to work for. it But assuming you are in a job and you've chosen that career, you've chosen that job because you like the industry, you like where you work, be behind the culture, actually promote the culture, encourage production, build relationships with other team members, your ownership, your management, customers, and be there,
00:01:39
Speaker
for long-term. So when I say longevity, I'm talking the company's overall long-term health, growth, all those kinds of things.
Ownership Mentality and Proactivity
00:01:46
Speaker
Number two, and this is really the most basic, treat the business as if it were your own. So there's EOS, which is an entrepreneurial operating system. I would recommend a lot of people operate that way, but the nutshell of that is basically this, treating the business as if it were your own. The finances, your finances are tied to it either way. If the company is making money,
00:02:09
Speaker
hand over fist, most likely when you ask for a raise, they can actually afford to do it. um And honestly, this is how you should operate as a human being either way. The way I look at it is, your name is on your project. If you're the foreman, if you're an operator, your name is all over that stuff. And to me, that matters. So to me, if I'm sitting there working, I want my job, my project, whatever it is I'm doing to be the best. So treat the business ah as if it were your own.
00:02:39
Speaker
Customers, build those relationships with them. Ask for more business. Ask for the sale. If you're working in a team and you're a leader on that team or you got some experience, coach and mentor other people that just got started. That's what a business owner would do. So thank as a business owner. Number three, help grow the company. Stop being passive and start being active. A lot of people do not do this and I do not understand it. Everybody wants to grow. They want to move up the ladder.
00:03:08
Speaker
They want pay advancements, but very few people are actually thinking this way, meaning I'm not just here for a paycheck. I'm not just here for my eight, 10, 12 hours. I am actually here. I'm active in the company being and active in its growth. If you do that, I promise you management and ownership will see that and think, man, I have a really good one here. I need to take care of them.
Bridging Labor and Management
00:03:30
Speaker
Number four, get the current culture. We talked about this on the previous podcast, but get the current culture.
00:03:36
Speaker
of us versus them, meaning labor versus management out of your head. It's hurting everyone, the company, management, and you. It has not been official to you at all to have that mindset. And that, I think, is part of the issue with some of the the attitude in the country as a whole is that it is an us versus them mentality. Guys, it's a team. Just like sports, your coach is your owner, business owner. It's no different than sports. You are a team moving towards a goal.
00:04:05
Speaker
A goal of a company is to be profitable and usually it is also to grow. The goal of sports is to win, same thing, and to win in the future, meaning coach, mentor, other players as they start, freshmen, whatever. It is no different and why business has a different mindset for a lot of people I do not understand. But get that mindset out of your head, be active in the company, coach others, treat the company as if it were your own. But if you can do that,
00:04:32
Speaker
Then all of a sudden management is not this evil little group of people in the office. Then all of a sudden management is someone that you can lean on, someone who can coach you, someone who will mentor you, someone who will help you get to where you want to go.
Continuous Education and Core Values
00:04:47
Speaker
Number five, always be learning and get certifications. You know, so for like Landicorp, which is my business, you know, CDL, gosh, can't have enough of those. Operate all of the different equipment we own. Can't have enough of that.
00:05:02
Speaker
Being someone that I can put on any job is extremely valuable, especially once you have some years of experience. But you have to constantly be searching and grabbing a certification. So if there's a training program like what we offer here or even more or in person at your wherever you work.
00:05:19
Speaker
do those trainings, get that certification. Most companies will have, you know, there's a, there's a dollar amount tied to different certifications, but either way, it makes you irreplaceable because you have all the certifications and that person is hard to find. Number six, be a good person. That seems a little basic, but be respectful, be a leader, be kind. That's who most companies, and if you look at their core values, that's probably who they want.
00:05:46
Speaker
They want someone who will lead others, someone who will coach others, someone who will do a good job, who will be honest, who will show up when they say they're going to show up and do what they say they're going to do. Be a good person. Number seven, always think big picture. Keep the ball moving. Be proactive in your company and its growth. A lot of people do not think big picture. They think today. They think this week. They think their paycheck at the end of the week. If you want to grow and you want to move up the ladder, you have to think big picture and what your actions today, what you're doing in the field today.
00:06:15
Speaker
how you treat that customer, all that stuff that you're doing right now, does that work and move the company to that big picture? If the answer is no, then you're thinking small and you're probably not going to move into a leadership position as a company.
Team Building and Mentorship
00:06:29
Speaker
Number eight, we've talked about a few times, teach and coach others, build future leaders and operators and doers. If you're someone that's been your company for a period of time, you automatically should be helping the new hires, the people as you know younger, whatever, just simply do not have the experience you have. You should be coaching and building up every single person on your team to be the best person in themselves, to be the most qualified. The favorite crews I've ever worked on, companies I've ever worked with have always been crews. They may be diverse, meaning weird backgrounds and age and all kinds of other stuff.
00:07:07
Speaker
But they got to site and you had an A team, meaning you had an A operator here. You had someone who, you know, would go do this basic job, but did it well and did it with enthusiasm. But they, a lot of those, a lot of those crews that I'm thinking of when I think of that, they had a very good leader that encouraged, motivated,
00:07:28
Speaker
mentored, but then gave them a promise of something more because most people want to grow. They want to move up the ladder. So you got to have all that kind of tied together and give that crew that motivation to get there. But mentor and coach them because a lot of people don't do that. So people start working for a company or whatever. And they realize, I don't really see a future here. I don't really see how I move up the ladder.
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:07:50
Speaker
You got to show them that you got to show them what it takes to move up that ladder. Number nine, super simple.
00:07:58
Speaker
Be irreplaceable, that's it. If you want to move up the ladder, if you want to be valuable to your company, yeah it's your decision. You get to choose whether or not you are irreplaceable. Irreplaceable, meaning it takes time, it takes hard work, it takes skill, it takes training. is not It's not something you can be passive about. If you want to be irreplaceable, you got to put in the work, you got to put in the time, you got to show upper management. You actually have the best interest of the company at heart,
00:08:26
Speaker
and you got to know deep down when the company does well you should also do well and if that's not where you work then you're working at the wrong place but most companies and most owners and most managers if the company's doing well they want to keep you they do not want to replace you so make yourself that valuable and then you're going to make the position and the pay that you want. So guys, it's a team. Treat it like a team. Think of it as sports. It's no different. Most of the time your management is not out against you. Get that mindset out of your head and think proactive, not just reactive. So guys, hopefully those nine points are good. If you like the podcast shared, if you don't, turn it off. But again, thank you for all the subscribes. We'll see you guys next time.