Dinged for being "too smart" - how do I transition out of government?
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Anonymous
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I'm sad and depressed, and writing this after a sleepless night filled with tears. So, if you want to be snarky, could you please go somewhere else to post?
I've worked most of my career in government, with the exception of a few years at McKinsey right out of graduate school. I joined government because I wanted to be in the public service, and I've worked for only one agency. The agency that I work for does, despite itself, promote the public good. Throughout my career at this agency, however, I've been periodically dinged for being "too smart." As a younger person, it seemed to matter less. I found people who knew how to use me well, who were themselves smart, goal-oriented, high-achievers. I was promoted at a relatively young age (for this agency, anyway, where management is heavily tilted towards older people) to deputy director of a division. I had a great boss, great colleagues, life seemed good. My boss then left and the new boss was of a different type - someone who had gotten where he was by marking time and not offending anyone. He was older, and he was very threatened by me. He told me on our first meeting (i.e. before we even started working together) that I was too young for the job. By the time he came along, I'd been in the job for 3 years and had more than proved my competence. I realized that he wasn't going to change and found another job within the agency. Again, the new job worked well for a few years, until a different boss came in. Rinse and repeat. When another cycle started after I'd been at the agency for over 15 years, I decided to stay at home for a few years with my children. After my last child entered kindergarten, I decided to go back to work. Maybe because of my specialized experience, the only offers I got were from my old agency. I accepted a position that was below my former grade, but at a comparable salary because of inflation. I wanted to be able to spend a decent amount of time with my children, and management at my agency can be a 60+ hour a week proposition. My boss offered me flexible hours and promised to be family-friendly. He is himself a parent, and he's generally a very nice guy. He also promised me some high-profile assignments that drew on specific areas where I have expertise. I felt that the job would provide a nice work-life balance. When I received the assignments he promised, I felt I had to prove that my years away had not rusted my brain. I gave the assignments my very best effort. Initially, everyone seemed happy. I got feedback that I knocked it out of the park. My division got lots of kudos and praise (as did I personally). Yesterday afternoon, my boss (whom I'll call Henry) called me into his office and told me that he has a near-revolt on his hands from his other staff. My co-workers seemed initially friendly, but I noticed some cooling off in recent weeks. I tried not to take it personally, but wondered if there was some envy about the assignments I'd been given. Henry confirmed that it went beyond envy. A number of the staff are deeply resentful and feel that he's playing favorites, giving me assignments that rightfully should have gone to one of them. He said he pointed out my experience and expertise, which made no impression on the complainants. He acknowledges that this is pure professional insecurity and jealousy, but Henry told me that he felt he made mistake in giving a new staff member such high profile assignments. He said that until the rest of the staff calm down, he'll be giving me only routine tasks, so that I'll have a lower profile. Then he asked me to focus on "building relationships." From what Henry told me, there are three people who have been organizing and fomenting the sentiment against me. He feels that there's nothing he can do as a manager except try to smooth the ruffled feathers. I have pretty good interpersonal skills, but I'm not sure there's much I can do to reduce my co-worker's sense of threat, other than by not performing. Henry's taken away any real choice in the matter, anyway. I'll automatically be less of a threat if I'm working on routine (read shit work no one else wants to do) tasks. I'm feeling rather punished for having done a good job. This is not a new experience, as at times in the past, I've also experienced backlash at this agency for doing something well. Usually, I had a critical mass of supportive people who outweighed the naysayers. Unfortunately, now many of my former colleagues have retired, and I don't have the kind of network and support I used to. I remember when I first ran into the "Tall Poppy Syndrome" in government, I missed the more performance-oriented nature of the private sector. Granted, McKinsey may not be every private sector organization, but I did feel that performance was rewarded and (almost uniformly) viewed in a positive way. I was also in a unit where the culture encouraged us to celebrating each others' achievements. I'm really, really sad to be where I'm at right now. I worked hard and went to top schools. I've always tried to deliver the best work that I can. I don't think I can reap many rewards within government. Henry's promised me that he'll give me more high profile assignments when things "calm down," but it seems unrealistic to think that he'll ever feel comfortable managing a team with divergent abilities. I do feel somewhat betrayed and left hanging. I may be looking at my experience in consulting with too nostalgic a lens, but I think I might be better off in the private sector. It seems to me there's more accountability and a focus on the performance that is, unfortunately, lacking in governmetn because of the inability to fire non-performing employees. The problem is, having worked in government for so long, I have no idea how to transition to the private sector. I did do some networking when I was job searching, and most people seemed to think that even though I'm bright, highly trained, experienced, and have a track record of success, it would be difficult to transition to the private sector given that most of my experience is within government. Has anyone made the transition successfully? Is it possible to have a family-friendly job in the private sector? I'm also wondering about AD-ship (political appointee), as it seems to me that while the jobs are term limited, they don't face the same limitations as being career civil servants. I know very little about how to become a political appointee. It seems to involve connecting with the right people, but if you don't move in political circles, how do you do that? I'd welcome any constructive, kind advice. |
Anonymous
| Your boss is telling you that you are too good and doing too much. Stay where you are for the time being and dedicate at least and hour or two during your work day to professional development opportunities and a thoughtful job search. In my experience much of the work in government is figuring out how to do things with a cast of characters that may not perform. In my agency we had about 20% of the staff do virtually nothing, another 20% pulling the weight of two people, and the rest somewhere in the middle. Don't let the bureaucracy get you down. Know you are better and will find a better fit soon. |
Anonymous
| Is there some reason you think that the boring jobs, that need to be done, not be done by you? Sounds like everyone would like to have less boring work, but you haven't been assigned those projects. So, you can move on or consider what is best for the group. If your interpersonal skills were as good as you say they are you would be more aware of the feelings of your co-workers and not have been blindsided by this and wouldn't have spent the night crying. Good luck in making your next choices. |
Anonymous
Aren't you just Little Miss Sunshine?! You're totally projecting yourself into what OP said, cuz you're probably one of the lazy government drones who do the bare minimum. OP never said she didn't do boring work as well as the high profile stuff,mand her boss said she'd ONLY be doing bullshit work from now on. What a great reward for doing a good job. So how was she supposed to be "more sensitive"? Do a shitty job? Apolgize for get get the assignment in the first place? |
Anonymous
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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. |
Anonymous
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. |
Anonymous
+1. Start networking. Find out what others have down post McKinsey. You'll eventually discover some ideas and you'll learn how the work life balance mag be outside of gov. Good luck. |
Anonymous
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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. |
Anonymous
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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. |
Anonymous
| So you are too smart, too high performing, have great interpersonal skills, yet it sounds like every professional role you've ever had other than the stint in consulting has culminated with you having to leave under organized persecution by a group of colleagues or superiors. Is that about it? I guess it could be that working for the Feds is actually like this... I wouldn't really know (sounds awful). But there are people in the private sector who have these same kinds of stories. Very often it is the person telling the story who has the problem. You might want to examine why it is you're always ending up with "enemies" who are out to get you, I seriously doubt it is because they are threatened by your intellect. You seem like a nice, thoughtful person but a little more introspection may be warranted here. Good luck. |
Anonymous
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You sound like a real peach. From what you've described, no one is bitter because you're "smart" and do a better job than they could. They're bitter because you showed up and took all the plum assignments when they feel they have seniority.
Read what you wrote. This tall poppy stuff is a narrative YOU'VE constructed about your life. You don't describe a single instance where you've actually been punished for being too good at your job. Instead, you gave us long paragraphs about how bright and wonderful you are and how everyone in life is threatened by your perfection. Attitudes like that are what drive people away, not the fact that you do good work. What you need to do is learn some humility. |
Anonymous
| I think there may be a fundamental mismatch between your strengths and those of your work environment, OP. It sounds like you would be happier working in the private sector. No shame in that. Just realize there may be some work/life balance trade offs. I'd start looking at consulting jobs in your field -- do you still have any connections at McKinsey? Maybe meet for coffee with someone there and/or do some networking? Meanwhile, keep your head down and don't rock the boat at your current job in case you'll need to be there a while. It will all work out in the long run if you put energy into landing somewhere great for you. |
Anonymous
Um, except she did. In the private sector you would absolutely expect someone who is experienced and can deliver to have priority for assignments. Wow. Is the expectation in government that people should wait in line regardless of level of competence? I can see why OP wants to get out. |
Anonymous
No, it's not the expectation that people should wait in line. But it is the expectation that people should prove themselves and should work as a team. It also sounds like she didn't necessarily get the assignments because she is better than the other employees. It sounds like she got them because the boss likes her. And he realizes that he has a problem on his hands because other employees think he's guilty of favortism -- given her all of the good assignments and the others the boring work. As experienced as a person is, it takes time to learn the ins and outs of a particular office. It doesn't sound like OP respects her coworkers or tries to seek their input. I worked in the private sector, and no, most of the time, when someone starts a job, they don't suddenly get all of the high-profile assignments because as much experience as they may have in other areas, they are new to that office. If her boss thought she was the only competent one and the others were incompetent, he wouldn't take the approach he is taking now (dialing back on what he gives her and asking that she work on her teamwork skills). Depending on the nature of the work, team work is important. The last thing a manager wants is a fairly new employee to go off on her own with the attitude that everyone she works with is stupid and has nothing to contribute. My sense from her post (especially the part where she was up crying all night) is that the boss is trying to spin it so as not to upset her. But even then, he flat out told her she has to work on building relationships. Is building relationships not important in the private sector? Is it wise to march into a new job at a new company and from the start alienate other people and act as if you shouldn't be expected to (1) work with other people and (2) share in doing the drudge work that still needs to be done? When I worked in the private sector, we had a lean staff. That meant EVERYONE had to do drudge work; everyone had to pitch in. If someone felt they were above certain work, they were eventually let go. It isn't that OP shouldn't expect some interesting assignments, but it sounds like she went in wanting all of the interesting assignments and none of the lesser profile stuff. You don't walk into a job with those kinds of demands. I'm also not convinced that OP "knocked it out of the park." Unless OP works the type of job where you don't have to engage other people at all, then I highly doubt that OP is as high performing as she thinks she is because her post suggests that she does not know how to work well with others and that she has no emotional IQ. The highest performers I've known in the public and the private sectors were the ones who were good at their job, knowledgeable, but also good at engaging other people, good at recognizing that a truly stellar employee recognizes the need to seek input from others when and where appropriate, and good at building a network of support. |
Anonymous
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You sound like a coworker of mine. If you have slid into a role where you can avoid the shit work - thus leaving your coworkers to do it - of course they will resent you. Your manager wasn't thinking when he made those assignments. Most jobs have their fair share of tedium.
Share the interesting work with others, do your share of shit work, and show you are willing to work as part of the team. Stop thinking of yourself as a special snowflake. There are more intelligent, competent people in the DC area than probably any other area of the country. |