Territoriality in the workplace can often be dismissed as a personality characteristic, quirk or minor annoyance, but it is much more than that.

It is a quiet, corrosive barrier to trust, collaboration and shared success.

At its core, territoriality is about the emotional and strategic ownership of knowledge, tasks or space. It is the instinct to guard information as personal capital rather than treat it as a shared resource. This guarding is rarely accidental. Indeed, it is often a deliberate response to fear.

Fear of losing status.

Fear of losing control.

Fear of losing relevance.

While we like to think of our workplaces as cooperative environments, territoriality reveals a deep undercurrent of competition and insecurity. It mirrors the structures we work within, and struggle against, every day. Hierarchies, siloed departments and reward systems that pit individuals against each other in contests of ambition.

Much like bullying, territoriality is not about challenging personalities but is instead a symptom of how work systems are designed.

The consequences are profound but often invisible. When employees withhold knowledge, they undermine not only their own performance but also the overall effectiveness of their team and the organisation more broadly.

Worse, territoriality is contagious. Knowledge hoarding breeds suspicion and resentment. Collaboration begins to feel risky rather than rewarding. Colleagues respond in kind, sparking cycles of reciprocal hiding that further erode trust and stifle innovation.

Yet organisations rarely name this issue explicitly. In many workplaces, territorial behaviour is tolerated, if not rewarded, especially when it aligns with competitive incentives or individual performance metrics.

While there might be short-term gains, the long-term costs are substantial, including missed opportunities, lost breakthroughs, fractured teams and hurt feelings.

People hoard knowledge not just because they are selfish, but because the system either rewards them for it or it fails to make sharing feel safe and worthwhile. That is why the solution is not more tools, platforms or automated systems. In my experience, organisations often invest heavily in knowledge management and collaboration software, yet neglect the human dynamics that actually make sharing work.

The real solution is in better leadership and a more intentional workplace culture.

Dismantling territoriality requires leadership styles that model openness rather than gatekeeping. It requires valuing personalities who prioritise connection and collective success over individual gain or mere task completion.

If we want workplaces where knowledge flows freely and innovation thrives, we must challenge the notion that information belongs to individuals. We must promote a culture that views knowledge as a collective wealth to be nurtured, shared and multiplied.