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

[Anonymous]

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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.

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.

Yes. I've seen what op is describing. I've only seen this happen to women, never to men. I worked at a pseudo govt agency with genererally well educated but under-performing staff. Women who came in strong were often treated like this.

I've never had a job in or out of government where talented people who can get along with others aren't immediately and highly valued. It just doesn't happen. If you're the kind of person who can take things on and work with different people, there will always be people looking to give you work and take you on and help you along.

OTOH, I've seen plenty of smart people crash and burn because their are their own worst enemies. If you walk into your first staff meeting and immediately start telling everyone how they can be doing their jobs better, no one is going to want anything to do with you.

Really! I've worked in and outside of the govt and have seen this particularly with women. It doesn't matter how well you work with others if they don't want you there.

So you've never seen a new person walk into a job that current employees were vying for? I've seen resentment in this type of situation that lasted for years. Your views are so pollyanaish.

New PP -- I have seen this. Seeing it in my agency right now, in fact. A number of long-time employees were passed over for a team management spot that went to someone from the outside. I am not in that office, so I don't have a dog in the fight. I don't know what her actual substantive knowledge is like but in my various interactions with her, she has struck me as smart, efficient, and interesting in improving agency processes (which is not a key priority of many people, sadly). The people in her office HATE her. They've hated her from day one. It's a small agency with lots of gossip and everyone knows it. If she actually doesn't know what she's talking about then there may be some foundation, but the way they talk about her is the way Republicans talk about Obama - obstructionism and assuming the worst of anything she proposes. It makes me suspect that in fact she's quite good, but she will never fit in because her subordinates will never forget that she came from the outside.

Thankfully my office is nothing like that. Totally different culture.

OK, but OP is saying this is like the third or fourth time she's run into this. At some point, you have to realize that you're either working for the worst agency in the world and should just leave, or that the problem is you.

[Anonymous]

These responses are pretty black and white. It could be a combo of things. Maybe OP, in her drive and focus, missed some relationship cueing. At the same time, perhaps her colleagues are feeling vulnerable and threatened. It can be a toxic combo. Ideally, there would be a middle ground. OP would tone it down and do some self-reflection, and her coworkers would own their piece of the problem, which is that op makes them feel bad about themselves in some way. If it's really a poor culture fit, she probably should move on when feasible. In the meantime, she should play nice to make her workdays less stressful. Op, find a way to stimulate and challenge yourself outside of work for a while. Maybe take on a creative pursuit or train for a race or something. Bide your time and don't make waves for a while. If you really dial it back, the social improvements may make you less weepy/sleepless, even if it doesn't do a damn thing for the work itself. It's hard to work in a hostile environment, so work on improving that first.