This is called the "Tyranny of Competence", here's a related excerpt from the book "Deep Change" ( http://books.google.com/books?id=NDkvbRX9dGQC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA

This is called the "Tyranny of Competence", here's a related excerpt from the book "Deep Change" ( http://books.google.com/books?id=NDkvbRX9dGQC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=Tyranny+of+Competence&source=bl&ots=KpQ1mvIR5t&sig=rkDgOhSisZ5oILIhsVuvgecSm70&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QNZDVPL9EK6CigKJjoCQBQ&ved=0CF8Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Tyranny%20of%20Competence&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=NDkvbRX9dGQC&pg=PA115&lpg=P... ) The arguments for competence are powerful and often overshadow or mask a problem area. An example of such an argument is the comment along the lines of, "We couldn't survive without Mary. No one else can sell that thing, and it represents 30 percent of our business." This statement is often so self-evident that no one thinks to point out the cooperative effort that should be the essence of the organization has already ceased to survive. People come to work, but there is a lack of communication, commitment, and cooperation. The process of slow death has set in. In one organization, a man of enormous technical competence was allowed to gain a lot of power, and many of his actions poisoned the climate in the workplace. People around him hated to come to work and went to great lengths to avoid dealing with him. Their bad feelings, irrationalities, and inefficiencies were costing the organization large but undocumented sums of money. Finally, the situation grew so bad that people united and demanded change. A senior person intervened in this Tyranny of Competence and tried to coach the man. The recipient found the feedback incomprehensible and argued that he was doing his "job" better than anyone else in the place. The organization was simply out to get him for personal and political reasons. Note the accuracy of his argument. He was doing his "job" well, and the organization was out to get him for political and personal reasons. The problem was his definition of the word "job". His job did not include relating to other people. Organizational relationships, with their interactions and political processes, are as real as physical objects. Not disciplining oneself enough to maintain good relationships is, in fact, destructive behavior. This man eventually left his job, convinced that he had been politically rejected (which was correct) for unjust reasons (which was incorrect). The day he went down the stairs for the last time, people came out of their offices, held hands, spontaneously danced, and sang, "Ding dong, the wicked witch is dead!" They discovered that this irreplaceable person was indeed replaceable. The top executives marveled at the increase in overall performance. They vowed not to make the same mistake again.