The best proof of your value is a team that doesn’t need you anymore.
Sounds backwards. It’s not.
I’ve watched senior engineers hoard knowledge for years, thinking it made them valuable. Then the reorg hits. The team restructures. And suddenly their “irreplaceable” status means they’re the only ones who can maintain a system nobody wants to keep.
They can’t move up. They can’t move sideways. They’re stuck.
The engineers who advance? They work themselves out of a job. Repeatedly.
They document decisions, not just code. They mentor before being asked. They build systems that run without them.
When organizational knowledge stays trapped in individuals, productivity can drop 20-30% when those people leave. But the real cost isn’t to the company. It’s for the person who never gets to leave.
Your successor isn’t your replacement. They’re your proof of impact.
The question isn’t “what would break if you left tomorrow?”
It’s “who have you made ready to take over?”
When did you last hand off something only you could do?