Letters to the Editor
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Huh?
There is even a response from a supervisor who believes that fucking things up her way is preferable to doing them right in another way.
Wow, I read that same letter and took away something completely different...that sometimes employees have to follow a lead.
In my field there are any number of "right" ways to do things. Much of it is learned through experience. My boss is the one stamping and signing our drawings and that makes him legally responsible for what they do. If he wants me to redo something, even something that I thought was a great solution to a problem, some other way, I do it. It can piss me off, but that's life. Constantly arguing about doing it MY way (not necessarily the ONLY right way) would be a surefire way to make all my coworkers and myself miserable.
By the way, because of this attitude it has made me pretty popular with our clients (always a good thing) because I allow the client to have input on their own freaking project.
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People too
Very enlightening response, and one i read, many are still trying to view from the employer-employee-structure side; co-workers and managers are people, no matter their position on the pyramid, subject to want and fears, specially being lonely or misunderstood. That's the forces that shape the workplace, not performance or numbers, those come and go, people still need the security of the flock. And someone to lead it.
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All signs point to you being a super awesome person
You do not fit in at work? SUPER! Nobody of any substance does. I don't fit in and I DO NOT WANT TO. I know my worth.
Most people's lives consist of a slow burn thru endless TV channel surfing and eating junk food. What will THEY ever accomplish but to create a replacement for themselves who will do the same fukcing thing all over and thwart the improvement of our species by voting for that nasty Democrat/Republican Money & Power Party to keep us all in shackles.
Also, if your mom's last words were about YOU, not about her, she LOVED you immensely. Most moms throw off their kids like Ahhnuld throwing off attacking soldiers in some sci fi flick.
She cared that you do well, more than she cared to dramatize her OWN plight as she was dying. And you will do well.
My advice, quit being like I was, trying to be perfect. Relax, breathe, make mistakes til you get used to the idea that mistakes do not really matter.
What matters is your general intent and that you LOVE yourself.
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Be patient - and start looking for your next opportunity
LW, hasn't corporate america taught you anything? It isn't about doing your job the best you can, or doing the best for the company (which is no doubt a greedy, morally bankrupt organization anyway - they all are). It serves only as a vehicle for your own self promotion. Every time you take on a new role, the first question you should ask yourself is what your new team wants from you, and do that. Sometimes they don't want an energetic self-starter with revolutionary ideas and a multitude of ways to increase efficiency. They just want someone to do what they're told.
I understand that more than likely, you are being truthful when you say are smarter than your superiors. Seniority isn't totally meaningless, but it isn't everything. There have been many, many times where I've questioned how people I've worked with made it into the role they are in - and how it's possible that they're more senior than me. It's just one of those "life isn't fair" deals.
Believe me when I say that the other people you work with - your business partners that aren't on your team directly, will see through this crap. It's easy to feel alienated when all you eat, sleep and breathe is the situation you are in. But people will surprise you with their perceptive abilities, and will recognize you for the talent that you are. It sounds as though this has already happened - and next time I'd recommend taking the promotion.
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Be careful in thinking that way
I understand that more than likely, you are being truthful when you say are smarter than your superiors.
The LW very well may be smarter, but if not, it's not the end of the world.
Even Richard Feynman (brilliant physicist, Nobel winner, etc.) said to be careful of thinking you are the smartest guy in the room, there frequently is someone else in the room smarter than you, even though in his case I find that hard to believe.
It's very easy to downplay other people's smarts. Some of the smartest people I know were NOT flashy with their ideas so can be under the radar to new people in the group, or to people that are not willing to see what others have to contribute.
Also, the reason why some people can move up in the corporate world, even if they are mediocre, is because they get along with clients/customers. The smartest person in the world will not be sucessful in many business ventures if they treat their clients/customers with disdain or talk down to them. I've seen it happen.
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I am the LW
Wow. This is an amazing and frightening array of responses. I’ve alternately been told to “relax” as well as been told I am insincere/jerk/snarky/arrogant. I could reply to all that, but I won’t. I know my character and am OK with it.
What does surprise me, though, are the number of responses saying, “you say you are smarter than your superiors!” NO I DON’T!! In fact, I said twice in my letter that I have told my superiors directly that I am glad they are my bosses – that I need a boss! That I still have a lot to learn!
This is the whole problem! Somehow I am coming off sounding like a know-it-all jerk – which is the exact opposite of how I feel! Yes, I have been promoted once and my and my team’s work has been awarded, but it’s not like I have ever strung all of this information together in one place until right now. You know? I don’t have trophies on my desk. I don’t tell people at work that we won this award.
But you see, the idea that I am a jerk who “knows best” keeps coming through, doesn’t it? The only opinion I offered on my own work was saying, “I’m good at what I do.” That’s it! The rest of the information is literally stuff that people said about me, to me.
I have more to say but later as I’m at work right now!!