Everyone Is Irreplaceable

Every individual is unique, has value, and no one will ever be replaced. Tough guy bosses often threaten the person asking for a raise, “No one is irreplaceable.” What they mean is, “Don’t threaten me. We can manage fine without you.” Nice guy managers say the same words to members of their team when a key staff member departs, but they mean something more along the lines of, “Don’t worry. We will be fine without her.” Both miss the point. Everyone is irreplaceable. This is the sorrowful truth of funerals. Mourning is learning to live with the gap in our lives and in our hearts.

Losses are happening all the time and all around us. Who will take my place when I retire? What will I do if you choose full-time motherhood over returning to work? I totally rely on your reliability, attention to detail, your judgment. No one will fill your shoes. If you don’t come back, I’ll be sad. We can’t replace you. We won’t try. We’ll move forward, organize work with new ingredients, people already on the team and others who will join us. Some people are already doing wonderfully, assuming pieces of your workload while you’re on leave. They’ll continue to do these things. What pieces remain? Which still need to be done? And what new tasks, arising as we grow, cry out for attention? What are the priorities moving forward?

What if you do return? Wonderful. We won’t go backwards. Things have changed. People who have stepped up can continue in those functions. What are the new challenges? These perhaps are the new tasks of the new you. Things are always changing.

And it’s not just you. I too am unique and special and all that. My successor doesn’t need to do everything I do. Some things can be done by someone else.  Some might not need to be done at all. Change is happening all the time. The “me” of yesterday is continuously replaced by the “me” of today. When we embrace this ever-evolving life, we liberate ourselves. Everyone is irreplaceable.