pretty obvious really.
The more indispensable you make your self ( to management eyes ) the less chance you have of promotion. The better you are, the less chance of finding someone else to slot into your space. And of course to fit into pay structures you'll be limited to that which your job title states, not what you really deliver. Recognition raises expectations so well... limit that too.
Most of those I've seen rise up through the ranks tend to have teflon shoulders and a tech lobotomy and generally middling at the work they've done but they sure know the political landscape.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
