Knowing One’s Limits… and Staying Within Them
I was chatting with a friend today and he was telling me the story of a guy he worked with. This guy was holding up the project they were on because he refused to see that he really didn't have the SQL skills to complete this one part of the project, and didn't hand it off to someone with far better skills. He insisted that it would be better for the team if he learned how to do this, and in a sense, he's right. It could be nice for him to be able to do more for the Team, but he shouldn't get that knowledge at the expense of the project. Pick it up on something that has a nice, long timeline, and not the project they are on that's already behind and threatening to harm the business.
It's about understanding one's limits and staying within them. Oh, there are time to stretch your comfort envelope, but when other people are counting on you, and you have the option of handing something off or keeping it for yourself and trying to get it done - you need to think of the Team a bit. Otherwise, people aren't going to want to work with you and you'll end up getting only those things that other people know you can do.
I don't know how this particular story is going to end. I'll check back with my friend in a few days, but it's something I really feel sorry for the guy about. I mean, he probably doesn't even recognize how he is perceived. He probably thinks this is normal behavior. But it's going to get him into a load of hot water when management asks him why it's not done and he's still saying "...I'll have it done tonight."