Essential Roles vs. "Necessary Evils"
Some leaders don't really value the skills that you bring and the results that you deliver to the business. Even when other things are great, this is a bad sign and not a sign that your future is bright at that company in that role.
Carter Cathey
9/8/20251 min read
A CEO at a company I once consulted with told me that sales was a "necessary evil." In his ideal world, customers would buy products without ever talking to a salesperson. The product was so good it would sell itself.
The reality? That never worked. Without a strong sales team, growth stalled. But because leadership never viewed sales as the engine of the business, the department was constantly undervalued and under resourced.
Here’s the lesson I took away:
Every role in a company matters, but it only works if leadership actually believes that. It is easy to put this on a poster, but the moment a role is seen as something to “overcome” instead of a driver of success, the people in that role will never be set up to thrive.
If you’re in sales (or any discipline), don’t settle for being seen as a necessary evil. Work where your contribution is viewed as essential. That’s where the best results, and the best careers, happen.