Why Being Hard to Replace is Bad

I read something I’ve always followed without realizing exactly why:

Don’t be irreplaceable; if you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.

I once worked with two programmers who told me they purposely wrote convoluted code. When I asked why they would do that, they replied, “Job security.” I always wondered why that company let its employees do that despite the impending likelihood that they would eventually quit and leave their mess for someone else to clean up.

Ever since then, I’ve always advocated for strict adherence to coding standards and frequent code ownership swapping. I’d like to add to the advice:

Nobody will choose to promote an individual who screws the company over – on purpose – on a daily basis.

I thought that was a neat tip to share on a Friday. 🙂