blogger profile

MissAttitude

Freelance Writer, Blogger, Web Producer and Adjunct Professor

I'm a professional woman in my 30s who's spent the last 13 years working in TV news. I love shoes, shopping and blogging. I also have an advice column. In the name of full disclosure I have to admit I don’t have a background in psychology, unless you count that one college course freshman year ...

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Why do incompetent people get ahead?

Just the other day one of my friends told me I should blog about why incompetent and lazy people always seem to succeed.  I think at first I brushed her off.  It's not that I haven't seen my fair share of that in the workplace, but it's a challenging thing to write about without naming any names.  It's also challenging when you know you've lost your job and others absurdly less competent than you remain for years to follow. So I'm going to try to keep this from sounding like the rants of a bitter woman.  Remember, I'm trying to stay positive!  So here it goes.

Sometimes I think upper level managers surround themselves with the "yes" men and women instead of hiring people who might challenge their views or judgement calls.  Let's face it, most of us want to be right.  I also think some managers don't want their employees to be more talented than they are.  This is something I don't think I'll ever understand.  I love having competent employees, I love having employees who think for themselves, I love having employees who take my suggestion and then improve it.  Instead of finding it intimidating, I find it exhilarating. 

Then there's for lack of a more tasteful term the "ass kissers."  You know who I'm talking about.  They probably sit near you at work or maybe you're one of them.  Now I'm not suggesting all employees who suck up are incompetent, but some of them are.  And for some reason their lack of skills seems to be camouflaged by all that kissing up.  I tend to think these people can ride the wave of success for quite a while, if that's what the manager wants.  Now what I've told myself, because I could never bring myself to be one of these people, is hard work and being good at what you do is better than this disguise any day. 

Lastly, there are the incompetent or lazy people who appear to have some special connection to the boss that always saves them.  Sometimes you hear the rumors they've slept with the boss.  Or maybe they're related.  Either way, avoid messing with them or wasting your energy worrying about why they appear to be doing better than you.  One day when they have to work somewhere else, someone will catch on to them.

I want to hear from you.  Do you have problems with lazy or incompetent coworkers?  Send your e-mails to miss.attitude7@gmail.com.

Stylishly yours,
Miss Attitude