Repair 21: Understanding Your Personal Value in Downtown Work
Why your role matters more than you think
The Problem
You do a lot.
You solve problems others do not see.
You hold things together.
And yet, your work often feels invisible.
You are expected to be flexible, passionate, and grateful, even when the responsibility keeps growing and the support does not.
This disconnect wears people down quietly.
Why This Keeps Happening
Personal value gets blurred when:
Downtown work is framed as “just passion”
Results are shared broadly, but labor is not
Success is expected, not explained
The role has grown without being redefined
No one has named what would happen if you were not there
When value is not articulated, it is easily overlooked.
The Fix
You do not need to justify your existence. You need to name your value clearly.
Here is how to fix it.
Step 1: Write Down What You Actually Do
Not your title.
Not your job description.
Write what you handle in reality:
Decisions you make
Problems you prevent
Relationships you manage
Risks you reduce
Invisible work still counts.
Step 2: Translate Your Work Into Outcomes
For each responsibility, ask:
What does this protect?
What does this enable?
What would break without it?
Outcomes make value visible to others.
Step 3: Separate You From the Role
Your value is not your willingness to absorb more.
Healthy roles have:
Defined scope
Clear expectations
Reasonable limits
Burnout is not a badge of importance.
Step 4: Practice Saying What You Contribute
This is not bragging.
It is clarity.
Practice one sentence:
“My role exists to ___ so that ___ can happen.”
If you cannot say it, others will not see it.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Letting passion replace boundaries
Assuming others understand your role
Waiting for recognition instead of naming value
Measuring worth by exhaustion
Clarity protects both you and the work.
What to Do This Week
Try this short exercise:
⬜ List 10 things you handled last week
⬜ Circle the ones only you could do
⬜ Translate 3 into outcomes
⬜ Write 1 clear value statement
⬜ Save it for future conversations
Understanding your value changes how you show up.
How We Help
This is a common focus of Professional Coaching and Support that happens during our Organizational Capacity Building, where we help practitioners articulate their value, clarify their role, and advocate for sustainable expectations.
Keep Going
This post is part of The Downtown Repair Manual, a field guide to fixing common downtown problems one issue at a time.
Your work matters, even when it is not loud.