As a programmer or system administrator, you could either strive to have your fingers in every system or to isolate yourself as much as possible to become an easily-substituted cog. Advantages of the latter include being able to take vacations and not being on call, while the former means that you'd always have something to do and be very difficult to fire.

Aiming for either extreme would require a conscious effort. Except for the obvious ethical considerations, what should one strive for?