Does that make sense? Great advice though, and I like you are getting to do you accept your surroundings or do you find ways to make them better? for you, for your co-workers, for your customers, etc. Iy you’re not, then you might not be doing that which gives you the most joy and happiness. Knowing that is what will help make you an asset, and help you “be someone.”

(Just don’t get too caught up in what others think and think twice about what “being someone” means to you.)

There are some positions (such as “de-facto IT guy”) where you need to be flexible and do a wide variety of jobs, ranging in many skills. In most positions, however, you need to stick with what you’re supposed to do and let someone who’s trained at the other job do it. They were trained to do it, you weren’t. They’ve done it many times before, you weren’t.

So you have two good choices. If you just want to earn a living, and don’t want to “be someone”, continue doing _your_ job. Do what the boss says. Maybe take some initiative where you think it’ll count, if no one else is supposed to do it.
If you want to “be someone”, and make a statement of yourself, leave your mark on the world, treat your job as a way to fund your own research. Do your job, and do it well. Take initiative here and there. But do your own research into things _you_ like.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

@CV “- why I am saddened that being an ‘asset’ is so often overlooked or/and undervalued ”

If you use social media and if you are an asset to a company engaged in it, the days of being overlooked are over. Social media means being all over the internet, engaging with people, making new connections.

If the company you work for is foolish enough to overlook you doing a good job of this, the network you have built should provide new opportunities to jump into.

@Christopher, being one of those “de-facto” IT guys of yesteryear, I completely agree with your comment. If you take the time to research and implement the skills in whatever business you work in, you do become the go to person. People perceive you as the expert, but if you go out of your way to help these people, you become an asset. And in IT work, you become one of the most demanded and appreciated people in the office.

Social media is no different. It is so new and “cutting edge” that if you even marginally participate in any of it, you are again perceived as an expert.

I am trying to educate the Realtor’s that I work with to embrace social media, and trying to show them how to integrate into their business strategies. Who cares if people perceive me to being the social media guru of the office. It doesn’t do anyone any good if I don’t share what I have learned to further the cause of the company as a whole.

Great reading, Ill be checking back in for comments.

Funny thing though, due to their hands-on interactions those de-facto guys/gals actually understood more about the need of the organization than any of the “that doesn’t conform to our protocol” IT staffers who sat behind their ivory firewalls and failed to fix anything….which begs the question, who were the REAL experts?….and who are the real experts now?

@CV Great comments to stretch the application of the “asset” mindset. I would agree with your additions.

Given a choice between participating as an ‘expert’ and participating as an ‘asset’, I’d take asset any day. Not only is it more interactive, it’s also fun.

Characteristics I’d add to the list?
— Assets help you identify questions you should be asking, rather than focusing on giving you answers
— Assets help you understand the information you already have
— Assets help you see in new ways what’s valuable in what you already know & in what you are looking for

thanks for the ideas! cvh

I have no use for self proclaimed expertise. I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen true experts give themselves the title of expert. I certainly have no idea who hires the folks that assumed the label.