A few years ago, I worked with an engineer. She was the only one who understood our legacy billing system from top to bottom, and whenever it broke, everyone called her.
A Principal Architect role opened up. Next-gen platform, greenfield, the kind of project people wait years for. She applied, figuring it was hers.
Her manager didn’t move her application to the interview phase. She just got an email. “We can’t lose you on billing right now. Let’s revisit next cycle.” She’d made herself impossible to move. That’s the trap.
If the place falls apart when you take a week off, that’s not job security. You made yourself a single point of failure.
If you want bigger scope. Train others on what you know. This will give you the flexibility to move up. Document a few things only you can do and hand them to someone junior because nobody moves a single point of failure.
Liz Wiseman’s Multipliers is worth your time if you want to understand why this works.
Suresh