When your colleagues start treating you as the "go-to guy", I think it's often holding back their own development. Why should they try harder when they know your code review will catch everything they missed? Why bother volunteering for challenging tasks when they know you will do it faster?
Often when you are put in the position of being the "go-to guy" at a company, you start to imagine that the company will fall apart without you. But it turns out that when you leave... the company just keeps going. And sometimes those developers you worked with that you might have seen as mediocre or unmotivated now grasp the opportunity to step up and grow into something better.
I think if you feel like all the pressure is on your shoulders and the company would fail without you, you have a bad relationship with your job. Your work is where you go to get paid. The end. Unless you are literally being paid 10x what your colleagues are being paid, from the company's perspective you are not a 10x developer. The truth is, in most cases, the company doesn't care all that much whether they have in you a 1.5x developer or a 10x developer. They value you exactly as much as they're paying you, no more. So don't feel irreplaceable. The world will keep on spinning long after you are gone.
> They value you exactly as much as they're paying you, no more.
Define "they".
It is sometimes useful to think of an organization as one actor, but this simplification can break down. For example, a great developer may get noticed and recognized by her manager, but said manager may have a difficult time making the case to bump her pay due to organizational dynamics and policies.
My point: different parts of the organization may value you differently, each with different abilities to 'compensate' you, whether it be pay, benefits, project flexibility, work-life balance, skunk works, or the option to not be anywhere near Chris.
(No offense to people named Chris intended. Unless, well, you are that Chris.)
> Unless you are literally being paid 10x what your colleagues are being paid, from the company's perspective you are not a 10x developer.
First, the usual accepted definition of a 10x developer is not about pay; it is about value added. Second, it is well-known that market pay is not necessarily linearly related to value added.
As I interpret this statement, it seems too narrow. It is one value judgment of how one person views work. It is not universal. I don't think this view is widely held in the software world, at least in the United States.
I love my job (at least most of it) but I do it to get paid! It is by any means what defines me! I feel sorry for people in the US if work (especially considering what is done in most software companies) is such an important parameter in your self worth evaluation!
I know what you mean: some people's self-worth is coupled to how their workplace perceives and values them.
And there is plenty of room for a synthesized (from 'synthesis', not 'synthetic') view; namely, it is natural and common and useful to enjoy and want to be good at your work.
Many people throughout history enjoy (some aspects of) working. For example there is satisfaction in seeing the fruits of your labor bring value to others.
I think a useful distinction is separating the quality of your craft from the inevitable ups and downs that come from working in organizational contexts, which have power struggles, politics, and vary in terms of how people are respected and treated.
Many workplaces (attempt to) optimize exclusively for short term employee output. This is short term thinking. If a person were to act in such a way it would be foolish in terms of achieving success over most time frames. It perhaps even would be immoral. Many ethicists suggest we should treat people as ends, not means.
When your colleagues start treating you as the "go-to guy", I think it's often holding back their own development. Why should they try harder when they know your code review will catch everything they missed? Why bother volunteering for challenging tasks when they know you will do it faster?
Often when you are put in the position of being the "go-to guy" at a company, you start to imagine that the company will fall apart without you. But it turns out that when you leave... the company just keeps going. And sometimes those developers you worked with that you might have seen as mediocre or unmotivated now grasp the opportunity to step up and grow into something better.
I think if you feel like all the pressure is on your shoulders and the company would fail without you, you have a bad relationship with your job. Your work is where you go to get paid. The end. Unless you are literally being paid 10x what your colleagues are being paid, from the company's perspective you are not a 10x developer. The truth is, in most cases, the company doesn't care all that much whether they have in you a 1.5x developer or a 10x developer. They value you exactly as much as they're paying you, no more. So don't feel irreplaceable. The world will keep on spinning long after you are gone.