How to Become the Person Everyone Wants on Their Team

The Art of Adding Value Without Being Asked

I was recently driving down to Clair Global for THE Conference: Live at Lititz, and with the wide open road in front of me, I was thinking about why I love this industry so much.

For me, I'm attracted to the teamwork, to the camaraderie, and to the ridiculous amount of focused dedication that this job demands. But what fascinates me most is that these aren't just work skills. They're life skills. They make you better at everything you touch.

And as I was thinking about all of this, I got a call from an old friend with plenty of stories from the road. These two winners are absolutely worth repeating here.

Willingly, Enthusiastically, and With Joy

The first story was about his time on the road with The Blues Brothers—and how they were just awful to him.

Now mind you, my friend was just a wholesome, good-natured farm boy who loved audio and had that can-do attitude. He worked for the local lighting and sound company. He didn't drink. He didn't smoke. And they treated him like he was a narc who had infiltrated the ranks.

After a week of intense hazing, something shifted. They started being nice. Really nice. Too nice.

So he asked, "What's up? What are you guys trying to pull?"

And they said: "Look, we talked. We don't want you to go home. This is the first time we don't get shocked by everything we touch on stage. And now we all have clean laundry and food at every gig."

Laundry and food were not part of his job description. But the tour was chaos. No one was organizing anything. So he just started fixing what was broken. Quietly. Without complaint. He saw problems and he fixed them. He did whatever it took to be helpful—willingly, enthusiastically, and with joy.

And when that tour came back through town, they asked for him specifically. They wouldn't take anyone else.

That's not technical brilliance. That's value.

The Willingness Bonus

Then came the parenting story.

Instead of giving his kids a straight allowance, he created a commission structure for chores. You do the work, you get paid. One week, the younger daughter didn't finish as many tasks. The older one earned more and was rubbing it in. So the dad added a "willingness bonus" to the younger daughter's payout.

The older one protested: "That's not fair!"

The dad replied: "When I ask you to take out the trash, you give me three excuses before you move. When I ask your sister, she smiles and just does it. She doesn't make me expend more energy. She doesn't create friction. She just gets it done."

That's the bonus. Not speed. Not volume. Willingness.

That's the Lesson

These two stories are not unrelated. They are the exact same thing.

And they are the same story as to why Clair dominates. And why road crews pull off impossible shows in impossible conditions. And—here's where Lititz comes in—why at THE Conference, the most powerful people in touring aren't the loudest in the room. They're the most trusted.

At Lititz, I sat next to production managers and touring engineers whose names move markets. None of them were pitching anything. None of them were peacocking. They were there because for decades they've been the people who fix the laundry and take out the trash without excuses. They are the ones who make other people's lives easier.

That's why they're brought into rooms. That's why they're asked back on tours. And that's also why some of the gear that I represent happens to show up on rental requests. Not because of brochures or specs. Because someone backstage trusts them.

It's Not About the Job Description

Here's what most people get wrong.

They think being employed is about skills. They think being in demand is about branding. They think success is about visibility.

It's not.

It's about removing friction. It's about making the system better at every touchpoint. It's about solving problems before they are named. It's about making the person above you look good. Making the person next to you look good. Making the whole operation smoother.

That's what makes you indispensable.

At Lititz, access wasn't given because someone wanted to sell something. Access was given because someone had spent 20 years being the person who quietly made everything work. That's relational sponsorship. That's earned demand.

The Hidden Job Market of Trust

Nobody at the highest level is waiting around for resumes. They are calling people they already know. They are asking: "Who do you trust?" "Who makes it easy?" "Who shows up and handles it?"

And that name gets passed along.

That's how you become always employed. That's how you become in demand. Not because you're flashy. Because you're frictionless.

Imagine If...

Imagine if your company operated like that. Imagine if your brand ran like that. Imagine if every person on your team acted like the farm boy—fixing problems that weren't technically "theirs." Imagine if willingness was rewarded more than ego. Imagine if adding value mattered more than defending territory.

That's the real secret. Make yourself so useful, so reliable, so willingly helpful that people claim you before you apply.

That's how you become untethered from job cycles. That's how you become someone who is always brought in. And that's why rooms like Lititz matter. Because they reveal who has been living this way for decades.

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