How do you make yourself indispensable at work? 5 ideas from the movie “Hidden Figures” to advance your career.

In the film “Hidden Figures”, based on a true story, Dorothy Vaughan gives us a lesson on how to become indispensable in a structure. In a difficult context, the 1960s in Virginia, where racial and gender segregation is everyday life, Dorothy imposes herself and becomes the first female supervisor of a team at NASA.

How does she do it?
She leads a team of “calculators”. These are women who calculate by hand the trajectory of future rocket launches. The arrival of a computer, a huge IBM 7090, puts their job in danger.

Rather than being afraid, Dorothy shows ingenuity and courage to train on this machine.

She finds a book and learns the “Fortran” language and experiments in the evening with the machine. She ends up being the most qualified and is offered the position of supervisor of the programming department. Making herself so indispensable allowed her to negotiate the move of all her teams with her.

1. 1. Anticipate the strategy.

No one has come to explain to Dorothy that the computer is going to replace the jobs of its teams. She inquires, asks questions, tries to understand what the machine will be able to do.

2. 2. Fear does not avoid danger.

It’s obvious. Her position and her teams are doomed to disappear. It’s just a matter of time. Cloistering and waiting while moping will not help. She chooses to learn.

3. 3. Test your understanding of internal business strategy.

You’ve understood what the next strategic moves for your company could be. You’ve deduced the possible consequences for you and your teams. Test your predictions with internal leaders. Whenever you get the chance, ask questions.

How do you anticipate the future?
What new technologies will we use?
What are the biggest challenges for our department?

4. 4. Train and learn.

Her first instinct, seek a book and learn about computer language and then experiment on the machine.

In the context (color segregation), each action puts her job and sometimes her life in danger.

This is no longer the case for the majority of us. All the necessary information is just a click away. Books, online training, experts…

After doing your initial research, you can contact online experts on sites like “Linkedin” and find a way to have a virtual coffee. A unique opportunity to ask them questions like:

If you were starting in your field today, how would you go about learning as quickly as possible?
What are the biggest challenges ahead for your industry?

5. 5. Volunteer for new projects.

With this new big picture you have developed, you become more sensitive to opportunities. You link more easily between the strategy and the chances of new projects. When it matches, volunteer. Another opportunity to improve your skills.

MrOTG