Word to describe a person who always tries to hide their skills from other colleagues [closed]

word-choice

I'm looking for a word,phrase, idiom to describe a person who doesn't want to share their knowledge to other colleagues and doesn't want to teach others the way of doing something because he is afraid of losing his position in the company or being left behind by his colleagues.

I think of this word: "protective over something". For example in this sentence: My manager is quite protective over his work; he doesn't want to teach me anything.
However, I'm not sure whether the word "protective over" is correct or not. Could you help me out?

Thank you so much.

Solution 1:

They keep their information close to their chest:

hold/keep/play (something) close to one's chest
variants: or US hold/keep/play (something) close to the vest

to keep (something) to oneself · It's better to hold such information close to the vest. · She tends to keep her opinions close to her chest.

Solution 2:

Although I don't have a dictionary reference, it's common to see this behaviour called Knowledge Hoarding:

Knowledge hoarder (noun): a person who gathers and guards information for personal preservation and future use.

Knowledge sharer (noun): a person who actively, purposely and happily gives information to others.

(from Knowledge Hoarders vs. Knowledge Sharers by Alison Cooley)

Solution 3:

If such word exists, it eludes me — but I'm thinking of secretive, unforthcoming. Such person is said to withhold information.

Solution 4:

If I was being slightly sardonic (and in a computing related field), I'd describe such a person as a data sink

Definition (from McGraw-Hill):

data sink (computer science) A memory or recording device capable of accepting data signals from a data transmission device and storing data for future use.

That is, your manager absorbs all the information around him but never retransmits it to you. It is more a technical term rather than a description of a person, but sometimes an analogy is the fastest method of communication, especially if you are dealing with computer scientists. It also describes what he is doing without any implications as to why he is doing it.

And if you want to argue your case with him, you could say it is best for you to learn a lot about his job so that he is then free to be promoted. He shouldn't be stuck in a position he is overqualified for simply because he hasn't communicated the correct skills to his team.

Your suggestion of "protective" is clear and respectful. I'd say it's both correct and as polite as you can be.