Then develop a breadth of knowledge so that you no longer have to ask others for help. Encourage management to hire enough staff to allow for specialization. The benefits should be obvious, especially if quality of service matters to your organization. Keeping in mind what is important and why system administrators frequently have so much to do are good reminders to the user. Before starting a project, scope out all the aspects of the project and be sure all parts are in hand before beginning.
Free tools require maintenance, patching, effort to install and maintain, and have a learning curve.
For that matter, so do commercial tools. Home-grown tools require time and effort to develop. Choose the correct solution for the problem and account for hidden, as well as apparent, costs. Make the right decision at the outset, even if the payoff may ultimately take a while. Let me know if you chose to implement any of these ideas, and how they work for you.