I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me (but it always does) when people inherently believe in the value of what they are doing, without being able to connect it to how it benefits anyone else. The reason is abundantly clear. Each of us has invested in learning, in some skill, some competencies. Those skills become our identity, our personal path to value, they are what WE get paid for. One problem is that we don’t always think clearly about whether that is relevant or inherently valuable in the context of the problem we are trying to solve. When our identifying with current skills or competencies often leads to a narrowing of focus, we call this specialization.
The specialist brings a specific set of tools, skills, practices and competencies to bear on any problem. He may not recognize that there are other paths to solution that require other tools, skills, practices or competencies, or how their own might be amplified by complementary skills from other specialties. The specialist’s worldview is through the window of their own skill.