How to Be an Irreplaceable Employee in the Age of AI: Mindset, Learning, and Adaptation

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about why it’s becoming increasingly difficult for students to pass math exams. Last week, I continued my thoughts on the challenges faced by those trying to start a career in IT. Today, I’d like to discuss what it takes to be a good employee.

Audrius Lučiūnas, in his LinkedIn post, shared the idea that sometimes a good and a bad employee can be compared to how artificial intelligence performs tasks. Even if given a poorly defined task or unclear instructions, a good employee still manages to achieve the desired result. A bad employee? A lousy employee only delivers exactly what was asked for—no more, no less. This analogy is similar to our beloved and widely used ChatGPT. So, what can you do to ensure that AI solutions don’t outperform you?

Since my first years in the industry were spent working mainly with beginners—people trying to test their skills in IT or those switching careers—I’ve accumulated a certain amount of knowledge. Combining this with my experience and results, I’d like to share my thoughts.

1. The Right Mindset

The first thing to develop is the right mindset: What can I do in this situation? In my experience, people often think that the client is bad, the employer is terrible, the circumstances are unfavorable, and that some external problem is preventing their success. However, life, work, and business are just a series of problems. Rarely does a project succeed effortlessly without effort. That’s why our mindset should be focused on solving complex problems, starting with ourselves.

Ask yourself:

• What resources do I have?
• What are my limitations?
• Who are the decision-makers?
• What does each decision-maker expect from me?
• What result needs to be achieved?

Most importantly, what actions can I take right now, and how should I approach them to achieve the desired outcome?

These are the questions you should ask when performing any task.

2. Learn by Copying the Best

The second tip, often overlooked but just as important, is to copy a mentor, a more experienced specialist, or a manager. What do I mean by this? Learn by observing, without necessarily being explicitly told what to do.

For example, while writing my company’s history posts on Thursdays, I noticed that I always observed their actions when dealing with a high-level client or my colleagues.

When I first attended meetings with a project manager, I knew nothing about the role, but I watched how they communicated, handled conflicts, what they said, and how they said it. When we worked with American clients in customer support, I learned how they responded to tasks. I copied best practices even when there were no written processes or guidelines.

The hardest part is distinguishing good practices from bad ones. However, in any task or workplace, there will always be an employee who performs better than others or receives higher recognition. Observe what they do and copy them. This way, even if solving complex problems is challenging, you will have an example to follow. And if needed, ask.

I have two real-life examples: one of my senior developers, who learned by doing and observing, became the best employee in the company, working entirely independently with complete autonomy. On the other hand, I have an employee who has been with the company for five years but, without recognizing best practices, still requires my constant attention as a manager to ensure work quality. Which one would you rather be?

3. Follow Processes, But Think Critically

The third tip for being a good employee is following processes and instructions. Unfortunately, not all companies have well-documented processes. Some don’t even need them. However, if a company has defined processes, don’t follow them unthinkingly. Instead, analyze each step:

• Why is it structured this way?
• Why is the order of steps arranged as it is?
• Are there any gaps or inconsistencies?

If you see gaps, it’s your responsibility to address them. Instructions and process guidelines won’t cover every possible scenario—this is where human judgment comes into play. What should guide your decisions? The company’s culture and values.

For example, if a company values “going the extra mile,” that means sometimes helping a client beyond what is strictly required.

4. Understand How the Company Operates

The fourth tip is to understand how your company operates entirely. As I mentioned in previous posts, if your company follows Agile principles, it’s crucial to truly understand what Agile is.

• How is Agile implemented in other companies?
• How is it used in the company I work for?
• What are the differences?
• How does my experience align with this?
• How can I apply my knowledge?
• What insights can I provide?

To be a great employee, you shouldn’t just unthinkingly follow your company’s processes—you should understand the broader principles and how they apply elsewhere.

5. Take Notes and Reflect Weekly

The fifth tip is to take notes and conduct weekly reflections. Reflection is one of the most powerful tools for improving both individuals and teams. A weekly review allows you to see your work from a different perspective.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• How did my week go? A general evaluation and a brief discussion of my goals—did I accomplish everything? Were there any obstacles?
• What problems did I face? The week had challenges, unexpected tasks, organizational issues, and other obstacles.
• What were the main issues? What knowledge or skills was I lacking? What was unclear?
• How did I solve these problems? What approaches did I try? Which worked, and which didn’t?
• What could I have done differently? Knowing what I know now, how would I approach things differently?
• What new skills or knowledge did I gain this week?
• Did I dedicate time to learning? Did I improve only during work hours, or did I also learn independently? What do I still need to know? How can I acquire those skills? What’s my concrete plan?
• Conclusion: A summary of recurring problems I haven’t solved or an action plan for what I will do differently moving forward.

Final Thoughts

No matter where you work, you can be the best employee in your company if you can assess your work results and review them weekly.

By paying attention to your results, you must clearly understand how your company operates—its methods and principles. Following documented guidelines and effectively using established processes will be the key to success. By working with these principles, observing others, and emulating the best employees, you will gain valuable experience you might not otherwise acquire.

All of this will help you solve the very issue I started with—solving complex tasks properly and ensuring that artificial intelligence does not outperform you.