It happens so often. A young up and go getter gets stiff armed by older senior members within an organization and they don't know why. Well, it happened to me today and I had no idea why until about halfway through the afternoon.
My background check at work was finished and I was granted a clearance to the next level up. All this meant was that I had a possibility to jump in to about round of qualifications for my job. Having a fairly savvy technical background, and having completed the first phase of training with the highest average - I was confident I could catch up. I approach one of the instructors asking if I could do this. He was vehemently against this. So what did I (foolishly) do? Went over his head and right to my boss. My boss is enthusiastic and vouches for me, as do my co workers. Even the department head does, but this doesn't make the instructors budge. I said I would put in extra time and catch up and that I loved the challenge, but this seemed to make the instructors that much more irritated.
confounded...
..until I recalled several anecdotes from robert greene's books which read in a similar fashion. It all dawned upon me in the mid afternoon. My co worker said ' i don't understand why someone would be against you trying to advance'. This was when I understood exactly why a superior would be against me advancing.
lesson learned Even if you are enthusiastic about showing off, stop and hold off. Think of who might resent it. If someone above you feels like their need is insignificant, they will make it impossible to advance no matter what you do.
On the bright side, I had a cadre of co workers, my immediate boss, and the department head on my side. Its been a while since i've seen people vouch for me that badly. I heard my boss argue with at least 2 higher ups to no avail.
This post isn't meant to brag or anything. Just another observation of one of my favorite books, and how the principals hold true. Anyone with similar experiences , feel free to post.
My background check at work was finished and I was granted a clearance to the next level up. All this meant was that I had a possibility to jump in to about round of qualifications for my job. Having a fairly savvy technical background, and having completed the first phase of training with the highest average - I was confident I could catch up. I approach one of the instructors asking if I could do this. He was vehemently against this. So what did I (foolishly) do? Went over his head and right to my boss. My boss is enthusiastic and vouches for me, as do my co workers. Even the department head does, but this doesn't make the instructors budge. I said I would put in extra time and catch up and that I loved the challenge, but this seemed to make the instructors that much more irritated.
confounded...
..until I recalled several anecdotes from robert greene's books which read in a similar fashion. It all dawned upon me in the mid afternoon. My co worker said ' i don't understand why someone would be against you trying to advance'. This was when I understood exactly why a superior would be against me advancing.
So what went wrong. I was arrogant and said I could get a high mark. I said i could catch up without instruction. This was foolish as it boosted my status, and indirectly told the instructors they weren't needed. Imagine being told that by someone 2 months on the job. Now it all made sense.
lesson learned Even if you are enthusiastic about showing off, stop and hold off. Think of who might resent it. If someone above you feels like their need is insignificant, they will make it impossible to advance no matter what you do.
On the bright side, I had a cadre of co workers, my immediate boss, and the department head on my side. Its been a while since i've seen people vouch for me that badly. I heard my boss argue with at least 2 higher ups to no avail.
This post isn't meant to brag or anything. Just another observation of one of my favorite books, and how the principals hold true. Anyone with similar experiences , feel free to post.