The Fallacy of Being Irreplaceable

Imagine if one person held the only keys to a vital system, and then went on sudden sick leave. How long would it take before things ground to a halt?

A Dangerous Fallacy

There is a persistent fallacy in some workplaces, the belief that if you keep your knowledge to yourself, you become indispensable. That by becoming the only person who knows how to do a task, run a process, or fix a problem, you’re creating job security. In reality, this mindset introduces fragility, not strength. It’s a short-term tactic that fails the long game of career growth, leadership, and organisational resilience.

In a previous article, Winning the lottery or failing the bus test (8^th June 2015), I explored a simple resilience thought experiment: What happens if a key person wins the lottery or gets hit by a bus? Whether someone leaves for joyful reasons or tragic ones, the point remains. Businesses must be prepared to continue functioning without any one individual.

That article focused on assessing the risk, whereas this one focuses more on one of its root causes – knowledge hoarding.

The Hidden Cost of Knowledge Hoarding

The idea that hoarding knowledge makes you valuable is deeply flawed. It’s understandable that people want to feel needed, but locking knowledge inside our heads doesn’t protect our position. In practice, it limits our growth, introduces single points of failure or single points of success into the business – situations where one person’s absence could derail critical operations or progress. These points of fragility are the antithesis of good governance, risk management, and succession planning.

I have experienced many situations over the years where we have discussed specific topics and issues, identified information that we needed to proceed, assigned tasks in the meeting, and scheduled a follow-up meeting, only to discover a week later that someone already had all the information but didn’t share it, allowing us to waste valuable time.

Understanding the Motives

People hoard knowledge for many different reasons. Sometimes fear-based, other times it’s due to past experiences or organisational dynamics. Here are some of the most common causes:

• Fear of being replaced

• Belief that knowledge equals power

• Job insecurity

• Ego or status-driven behaviour

• Lack of trust in colleagues or leadership

• Past experiences of being overlooked or unrewarded after sharing

• Competitive or toxic workplace culture

• Unclear job boundaries or expectations

• Lack of recognition for knowledge-sharing efforts

• High workloads and time pressure

• Absence of easy-to-use documentation tools or systems

The Power of Shared Knowledge

But all of these are based on a fallacy, that being the only one who knows something creates job security. In truth, this behaviour can backfire spectacularly. The real value comes from empowerment, not from exclusivity.

Sharing knowledge also depends on trust. In organisations where people feel safe to ask questions, admit what they don’t know, and share openly, knowledge flows more naturally. This psychological safety underpins a learning culture and strengthens resilience.

I once had a conversation with someone who told me that, because I’d gone to university and earned a degree at great personal expense, my knowledge was my property — something to sell, not share. I’ve never fully agreed with this mindset. I’ve always felt that knowledge becomes more valuable when it helps others. It is one of the reasons I continue to write and publish articles here on Integritum; not because I have all the answers, but because collective thinking helps us all improve.

In resilient teams:

• Knowledge flows through cross training

• Processes are documented, shared, and improved collaboratively.

• Team members cover each other’s workload during sickness and annual leave

• If someone receives a promotion, resigns, or retires, they can do so without the business suffering.

The Path to Growth

If someone else can do what you do, that doesn’t make you replaceable – it makes you promotable. Consequently, the objective is not to cling to tasks, but to enable others so we can move on to high-value work. It is not about guarding secrets, but creating capacity in others.

For succession planning, every role should have a shadow, a backup, or at least a process manual. Onboarding new staff, covering holidays or sickness, or responding to emergencies – shared knowledge builds resilience.

When we share knowledge, the benefits are wide-reaching. It builds trust, supports professional development, and improves operational continuity. For example:

• We build trust with colleagues

• We support a culture of learning

• We position ourselves as leaders

• We reduce organisational risk

• We create the conditions for personal growth and advancement

The idea that ‘if no one else knows how we do this, they’ll always need us’ may feel like control, but in reality it only serves to trap us where we are. True job security doesn’t come from being irreplaceable, it comes from being so effective, helpful, and growth-oriented that people want us to succeed, and want to give us responsibility, not less. The more people that can do what we do, the more space we will have to do something greater.

Standards That Reinforce the Message

Standards such as ISO 27001, ISO 9001, and ISO 42001 define management system frameworks that reinforce the importance of documented processes and knowledge continuity as core aspects of resilience and risk management.

As AI continues to automate routine work, the value of human roles will shift even more toward strategic thinking, mentorship, and collaboration — all of which depend on shared knowledge.