The Valuable Employee Paradox: When Being Indispensable Becomes a Burden

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In The Looking Glass: The Valuable Employee Paradox, Julie Zhuo explores how being an organization’s most reliable and capable employee can sometimes be more of a curse than a blessing. While high performers are often rewarded with more responsibilities, this dynamic can create a bottleneck where the entire team becomes overly dependent on one person.

Zhuo argues that this leads to burnout, stagnation, and inefficiency. Instead of rewarding employees by piling on more tasks, companies should focus on distributing responsibilities and fostering a culture of shared knowledge. By doing so, organizations can prevent burnout, encourage leadership growth, and build a more resilient workforce.

The article highlights a common but often overlooked workplace dilemma: those who are most capable are often overburdened, not empowered. Zhuo’s insights serve as a call for companies to rethink how they recognize and support their top talent.

Source: Julie Zhuo, https://joulee.medium.com/the-looking-glass-the-valuable-employee-paradox-cb489320b1f8

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