I heard a preposterous story about a CEO who arrived at his new company – a medium-sized business with about 100 people in his location – and proceeded to order all of the employees into the parking lot. 

“You all are to stay out here until further notice,” he said.  “If I or senior management needs you for something, we will summon you inside.  A few weeks may go by, and if you’re still out here, it means your contribution to the organization is not readily apparent, and you should go elsewhere.”

This is no doubt harsh, and yes, I doubt its truthfulness.  But if looked at as a metaphor, it emphasizes a point that I like to reiterate in all of my university, corporate, and conference talks.  Your career will not go anywhere if the powers that be don’t understand what you bring to the table.  This means, especially if you’re at the junior level, that you must always keep your bosses informed about what you’re working on, and subtly assert your achievements and the hard-core business results that go along with them. 

At least one senior manager should have you on speed dial because she knows you can be counted on to provide specialized expertise or knowledge, and are someone who gets things done.  While it’s true that no one is irreplaceable, you want them to think that life would be uncomfortable for a few weeks or months if you didn’t show up for work one day.  That’s how you know that you’re truly adding value.