Not sharing work knowledge (advice please!)

[MarianneAdams]

Name change as regular poster. Ive worked somewhere for several years now and have recently learned some new work skills which has made me very unique in the company (think transformation). It's gone down very well. I'm usually the nice person who shares everything but it's dawned on me that I may need to protect my position a bit. The company isn't doing well but what I do is getting a lot of exposure round the business (something I've never had before). People are starting to ask if I can show them things so they can copy it. I've seen people let go and I want to protect this knowledge a bit. Am I being ridiculous? If not, what can I say without showing them exactly how to do things?

Even writing this sounds ridiculous but friends have told me to protect myself and I don't know how

I'd say, I don't have time in my schedule right now to show you and I don't really feel comfortable training others at something I've just learned myself. I recommend you sign up for the course I did. Then if people can be bothered with the extra time/ expense/ commitment and get as good as you, your knowledge is diluted. If they can't be bothered, you stay valuable.

Did the company pay/ give paid extra leave for your training? Did they expect you to disseminate as part of that cost?

How did you find out how to do what your doing? If it's something that is common knowledge like setting Google ads I'd tell them a rough outline and let them Google it themselves as they'll find out themselves anyway. If it's something that's taken a lot of time for you to learn how to do it like some sort of coding I'd say your using "vague general name" but it took a while to learn so they'll have to teach themselves. Otherwise you'll come across as unhelpful and potentially harming the company by not sharing ideas.

Hi @WinterFoxes, I trained myself via the web and then had a knack for understanding how to streamline areas. Its like I finally found something I was good at! I'm OK to explain bits but not everything as I think/know it will become company wide and then I will just be another person who knew it

I’d tell them what you did to train and leave them to it

Agree with @whynotmereally - you’ve done this on your own initiative; there’s nothing stopping them from doing the same (if they can be bothered).

Fo those who can be bothered, and most won’t if it’s not made easy for them, you could set up a community of practice, ideas exchange etc. Then if you need to find a new job you have some great examples of your skills and experience to show off with at interviews.

I totally get wanting to protect yourself but see it also as an opportunity to develop further, and it gives you a head start in the job market if the company fails.

I would love to know what skill it is you have picked up. Is it something that would benefit the business as a whole or something that just makes people’s lives a bit easier individually?

I agree with the PP who suggested saying you don’t have time in your schedule at the moment but they can learn by doing X Y Z.

However if it is relatively easy to access how to do this maybe get ahead of it and offer to train people officially with your managers, making yourself valuable as the person who teaches others rather than just one of the people who can do it.

In that case, just say you are too busy to train anyone else right now, but there's plenty of info online if they Google it. Leave them to be as proactive as you were. Chances are, most won't bother. If they do, there's not much you can do. Maybe your skills, once quantifiable through applying them in your current role, might get you a better job elsewhere, in a company that isn't laying people off.

@MarianneAdams I recently had to run a training weekend. The final session was 'how to gain advantage.' They were all so crestfallen that I hadn't done their individual research for them and gift-wrapped them an easy little set piece each to double their income overnight. I explained the market is volatile and they all had slightly different niche areas anyway, and it was up to them to research online and then keep spreadsheets of current trends and opportunities.

I did actually end up saying: don't be lazy. Don't expect me to do this groundwork for you. It is time consuming and individualised. No one but you can do it. There is no fast track to this part of the job.

Interestingly thinking about it, there are z couple of others who know their stuff and i noticed they dont train anyone/just send youtube links out. I used to think they just didn't know to teach but reading this thread makes me think they are also protecting their knowledge

@MarianneAdams there are three key things from you post

• normally you share your info
• the business is not doing well
• what you are doing is getting a lot of attention.

I am someone who doesn’t like people who use power as knowledge, and the impression you give is that you don’t either.

However, I learnt where it was strategic to keep knowledge to myself, this seems to be that time for you. Given the business is not doing well you want to keep the attention on you, so on this occasion I would be following your colleagues and just pointing people in the right direction e.g. YouTube video’s.

I would write a short guideline with the resources you used to train yourself and some basic info, and distribute it, with your name in a very visible place. This way you're promoting yourself, and most people won't be bothered to learn anyway. In any case, you position yourself as a leader, and not as someone who is trying to protect yourself.