Renee worked hard and loved to be the one who had all the answers. She prided herself on her subject matter expertise and it made her feel important that she had the information that others needed. As Renee discussed her career goals with her manager, he mentioned a new project he wanted to her to lead. He asked her if she had documented all the processes and procedures in her area so that there would be a good handoff should she take on this other role. She looked panic stricken as she said, “No I haven’t. If I put all this information down, then I won’t be as valuable to the organization.” Her manager realized that she didn’t see the value that she could bring in other ways.
Many individual contributors struggle with this concern. It is hard for them to let go of what they think makes them stand out. What they don’t realize is that holding on to all that knowledge and not sharing it with others, may actually be the thing that holds them back from future opportunities. If no one else has the expertise that Renee has then she can’t leave her current role. This is the message that her manager shared with her.
Helping her understand that sharing her knowledge with others may give her new ways to show value and she can learn new things even in her current role. Her manager encouraged her to start transitioning knowledge so she could be ready for new roles. She agreed and put a plan together to begin this process.
She met with her manager a month later and shared an update about the transition of knowledge. He asked her how it felt to let go of the information and trust others with it. She said, “It actually feels like a big relief not to be the only one who knows all this information. I didn’t want to be away from work in case something came up and now I can leave without worrying about anything. I am ready to start working on the new project. I can see that I used all that knowledge as a way to keep myself in the same place. I was nervous to take on a new role and leave that all behind. Now I am ready to take on new things, so I can keep developing my skills.”
Managers may need to check in on their team to see if this is something that is happening for them. Inspiring leaders to show their value in multiple ways is important. All of their knowledge will help them, but diversifying their experiences is key. Help them to find ways to be more visible so they can to keep developing their skills.