In Pictures: 20 surefire IT mistakes

6. Creating indispensible employees

As comforting as it may be to know that a single employee understands your systems inside and out, it's never in a company's best interests to let IT workers become truly indispensible. Take, for example, former City of San Francisco employee Terry Childs, who was eventually jailed for refusing to reveal key network passwords that only he knew. In addition, employees who are too valuable in specific roles can get passed up for career advancement and miss out on fresh opportunities. Rather than building specialized superstars, encourage collaboration and train your staff to work with a variety of teams and projects. A multitalented IT workforce will not only be happier, it will be better for business, too.