I’m someone who used to be a superstar who at the age of 50 decided I would just be a high performer. I stopped worrying about all the things that could go wrong if they were someone else’s problem. I have kids who need attention and my salary is comfortable. One thing this pandemic has shown me is how much extra stuff we were doing that didn’t make our lives any better. In my organization we have so many things that teams are supposed to do, and I get called in for cleanup when they go south. I stopped preemptively cleaning up messes about to happen except for those where I actually care about them. And you figure out that the job doesn’t love you back.

Anonymous wrote:I haven't cared in a long time. I do my job and take on special projects as needed and get great reviews but I have no interest in advancing or doing rotations or any other things for career development. I just want to do my work and then be done.

This is me too. I’ve never cared about being a worker bee in the corporate world. I have always done it purely as a means to an end. Oddly enough, I feel that my mental freedom from not caring about climbing the ranks, gives me a confidence that my leadership teams have always seemed to appreciate and admire, and they push me for promotions. It also helps that I’m highly competent at what I do and get along very well with others.

But as soon as I hit the numbers I need in my bank and retirement accounts, I am getting out of the corporate world for good and not looking back. Like, literally will give my two weeks notice and be gone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting debate re bottom performers vs superstars. Could be its own thread. Superstars are exhausting. Very demanding, grabby, and just don't stop so you're forced to draw boundaries in a way that should be counterintuitive. The low performers are a nightmare but at least you have to approach them, they're not always on you. Sometimes you can rehabilitate them into something acceptable but the top performers are never going to stop taking up all the oxygen in the room.

Ugh total opposite in my experience. I'd much rather have the superstars. The low performers, in my experience, don't improve and I wind up doing their job and mine. I was so much more productive after 2 people left and I could do all my own work instead of mine plus theirs!

One thing I've learned -- and this is what made me squarely in the "I'm just here for the paycheck" camp -- is that the definition of a "top" vs "bottom" performer is defined primarily by how well you mesh with your supervisor, to a lesser extent how your supervisor meshes with people higher up (so they can better advocate for you) and very little, if hardly any, attention is paid to actual skill or aptitude.

yup it's all networking which is really just politics which is really just back in high school again

my last performance review was that I need to show more leadership.

Sorry I'm not going to do more work for the same paycheck. If you want me to lead/do more then pay me more this isn't a charity

On the italics side, sometimes it's not even that deep. I've seen people be mistreated AND be treated extremely well based on completely subjective criteria, like whether the boss likes their personality/zodiac sign/face/whatever or not. They could have networked til the cows came home; either they were "in" or not.

On the bolded side, +100. Speak the truth.

Anonymous wrote:When they stormed the Capitol and the GOP defended it.

Yep. Feds at my job are leaving like crazy, if they can. The rest of us are demoralized and now hate all republicans, which was not the case before.

Anonymous wrote:When they stormed the Capitol and the GOP defended it.

But they was patriots.

When they stormed the Capitol and the GOP defended it.