Dinged for being "too smart" - how do I transition out of government?

[Anonymous]

giving, not given. ^^^^ sorry.

[Anonymous]

I'm a pretty smart cookie myself, OP. Like you, I've given given advice about building relationships. I've approached it like any other skill that needs to be developed. I'm self-aware enough to take in someone else's comments, especially when I can see there's room for me to grow. Don't cry, start inviting people to lunch. A long time ago, in a very different position, I found myself isolated and derided. They thought I was arrogant and smug. One woman was so openly hostile, I was also in tears. A bit of relationship-building later, and they came to see me as the nerd that I am. Walls had to come down. I carried a "never let them see you sweat" motto that hurt me so much when it came to how I was perceived. I asked more about their work and shared my own struggles with assignments. We came together. My talents were recognized, sure. But so were the talents of everyone else.

You've been given a very difficult assignment: Learn to play well with others. There is no down side to this. Having grunt work to keep you busy is just one way Henry has allowed you the availability to work on relationships. This is not separate from your work, it is a vital part of it.

Perspective, OP, is everything.

[Anonymous]

So it sounds like the your coworkers felt they could have done the job just as good as you, but were not given the chance. They had to do the shit work you don't want to do. No one has said you are too smart, just you got an assignment other would have like to have had a chance at. You need to check your ego.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm sorry your co-workers are such assholes, but surely you can look back and think about things you've done that have ruffled feathers. It can't just be jealousy, I'm sure that you've had something to do with it. I'm not being snarky, but you're not looking at it with an objective eye. You're probably a little cocky and full of yourself, based on your post.

That said, you need to get out of your agency and look into government contracting. You get paid well and can have a great lifestyle. It's simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so simple.

You worked for McKinsey once. That's like saying you have the cure to cancer in your kitchen drawer and just haven't gotten around to transcribing it.

Pick up the phone and call them back.

Even a first year post mba associate gig would pay more than whatever you are making now.

NP here. I get the impression that for all of the talk about how great she is, OP wants the government gig because she wants the work-life balance. Otherwise, this post wouldn't exist, and she would have other options that she would have exercised by now.

Even McKinsey has a government contracting arm. OP can also call places like Deloitte, PWC, Toeffler, etc.. that have the "high caliber" (aka snooty) reputation she is looking for.

[Anonymous]

OP, ask yourself if you have mentioned to any of your coworkers that you worked at McKinsey? The fact that you name dropped it in your post says to me that you have a big ego and are impressed with yourself. It's kind of like the people who always seem to mention that they went to Harvard.

I have an impressive background myself (who doesn't in this town) but if I came into a new job and started getting all of the plum assignments, I'd start worrying about coworkers hating me and would try to see what I could do to spread the wealth/share the credit. It doesn't sound like that is what you did, which is likely why you are in this pickle. People can resent the boss's pet in the private sector too.

[Anonymous]

I'll take your story at face value. I don't think I'm too smart but I was definitely too ambitious for the government agency I worked at.

Go back to consulting. My government colleagues warned me that the private sector is awful and requires long hours. But I am so so so much happier. I don't mind long hours when I like my coworkers and have work to do and deadlines. I found the slow pce of my agency soul sucking. Government has lazy people and the smart people who stick around for some reason are able to tolerate and thrive in that environment. Maybe they are more attached to the mission. Or more patient. Who knows.

[Anonymous]

At a certain level of intelligence, OP, it's all about learning to communicate and relate well to others. The rest comes easy.

So take a deep breath and review what you did. I'm sure you're not totally innocent here.

My husband has a very high IQ and no EQ. He has ADHD and is borderline Asperger's. He made a female colleague cry one day - and felt really bad afterward, but the sad thing is that he couldn't see it coming at the time.

It sounds as if you need to re-evaluate how your present yourself.

[Anonymous]

Don't talk poppies get promoted?

[Anonymous]

Realistically, your best option is to stay where you are for a bit, try to improve relationships within your team, and look for opportunities in other groups within your agency as they arise. You are not going to become a political appointee unless you are liked by the right people and have the right connections, and you say you can't transition to the private sector easily, so I am taking that at face value.

[Anonymous]

Who at a government agency really gets upset bc they didn't get the "best" or most "high profile" assignments? How long has it been since you got there? If what your boss is saying is true, pretty petty. Did you brag to the others about your assignments?

[Anonymous]

I suspect your interpersonal skills are not as good as you think they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10:53 here. And I will add that you say at the start of your post you don't want snark, but then you go on to basically say how fabulous you are compared to your jealous, underperforming coworkers.

So it sounds to me like you don't want honest feedback.

I should add that your boss said your coworkers are upset because they aren't getting the big assignments. So it isn't that they are underperforming; it's that they feel they aren't being given the opportunity to perform, after having been there long before you came along. Somehow it seems you think that you have experience, but they don't.

You can move to the private sector, but no matter where you go, you are going to have to work on your interpersonal skills, and you are going to have to get a thicker skin when it comes to getting feedback.

Your boss is trying to tell you to work on building relationships. Your boss is actually a good boss because he doesn't want acrimony. If anything, he is doing you a favor because he doesn't want a situation where you are hated by all of your coworkers. He is trying to help you remedy that.

This is very wise advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I had a coworker like you.

She was smart and good at her job, but she wasn't the Second Coming. It was clear she thought she was the greatest, and she had absolutely no respect for her coworkers. In fact, she felt they were all lazy and stupid.

She got special treatment, partly because she made it seem like she would leave if she didn't.

Here's the thing: She was INCREDIBLY difficult to work with. She wanted to do everything on her own, didn't seek the input of others (even though that was part of her job), and on top of all of that, expected special treatment with regard to time off and flexibility.

I highly doubt you got "dinged for being too smart." The problem is that you aren't smart enough to see that you got dinged for not working well with others, not doing a good job of building consensus, not communicating well or giving your coworkers a sense of inclusion. These things are important skills in the workplace.

The way your post reads, it's very clear that you have a high opinion of yourself. It also sounds like you want to do things on your own.

Your boss likes you and doesn't want to upset you, and that is why he is phrasing his criticism the way he is.

No matter how smart or how experienced a person is, you don't just start a job and jump to the head of the line when it comes to assignments.

Bingo! You nailed it.
I'm also a Fed and can see this from her post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I had a coworker like you.

She was smart and good at her job, but she wasn't the Second Coming. It was clear she thought she was the greatest, and she had absolutely no respect for her coworkers. In fact, she felt they were all lazy and stupid.

She got special treatment, partly because she made it seem like she would leave if she didn't.

Here's the thing: She was INCREDIBLY difficult to work with. She wanted to do everything on her own, didn't seek the input of others (even though that was part of her job), and on top of all of that, expected special treatment with regard to time off and flexibility.

I highly doubt you got "dinged for being too smart." The problem is that you aren't smart enough to see that you got dinged for not working well with others, not doing a good job of building consensus, not communicating well or giving your coworkers a sense of inclusion. These things are important skills in the workplace.

The way your post reads, it's very clear that you have a high opinion of yourself. It also sounds like you want to do things on your own.

Your boss likes you and doesn't want to upset you, and that is why he is phrasing his criticism the way he is.

No matter how smart or how experienced a person is, you don't just start a job and jump to the head of the line when it comes to assignments.

Bingo! You nailed it.
I'm also a Fed and can see this from her post.

I'm also a fed, but a manager and both of you sound like catty, envious do-nothings. I'd say you and your co-workers are probably stupid and lazy. The problem with some people in government is they get used to a pretty low standard of work. A lot of the time, they can't tell the difference between great work and poor work, because they're too stupid. So they see someone else given so-called special treatment and get jealous.

I doubt the coworker you disliked so much was given special treatment just because she threatened to leave. she probably orovided value that you could not recognize. At least enough so that management was willing to keep her on.

The other thing about some people in government is they want everyone to be treated the same, regardless of who does the work. Like e earlier poster mentioned, the ones who do no work want to be paid the same and treated the same as the ones who do the work of two people.