Biglaw, In-House Counsel

The Curse Of Competence

What exactly is this curse, and if you're afflicted with it, what can you do? Columnist Mark Herrmann explains.

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dartboard pen on target inside straightDo you suffer from the curse of competence?

Be flattered, not frustrated.

Suppose you can write. There’s an outside chance that people will notice your skill. All of a sudden, you’ll be asked to write everything.

You’ll have briefs coming out of your ears. You’ll be ghost-writing articles for the senior guys. You’ll be asked to take a look at every policy, or procedure, or piece of pablum going out of the joint. You’ll be editing stuff that you didn’t know existed.

There will be a set of 1,000 cases. One will be heading to trial. You’ll have been working like a dog on those cases, and you’ll want to play a speaking role at trial. You’ll propose just that.

“No,” you’ll be told. “You can’t go to trial! You’re the only one who can write briefs. We can’t spare you! What would happen to all the motions and appeals if you spent three weeks pinned down at a trial site?”

You curse. You scratch your head. You wonder: “Am I being punished for being competent? I don’t simply write more clearly than the other folks at this joint. I also do better cross-examinations than the clowns who are attending the trial. But I’m being deprived of the good opportunity because the other folks are incompetent to handle brief-writing? Where’s the justice in that?”

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You’re right — there is no justice in that.

You’re suffering from the curse of competence.

The curse of competence doesn’t afflict only good writers. It can also afflict, for example, the few people who actually do things.

“Do things”; I typed that right. If you’re asked to do something, you do it. Without complaining. On time. And more or less right.

Batten down the hatches! There’s rough weather ahead!

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If you actually do things, on time and right, you’ve probably just set yourself apart from 95 percent of the rest of humanity. This will make you a very popular guy (or gal).

Does anything need doing? You’ll be the one!

No one is coordinating the 15 cases? Let’s ask the competent person to handle that. It may not be the role she prefers, but at least we’ll have someone we trust at the helm.

The document review is going poorly? Let’s ask the competent person to oversee it! Maybe she can fix things.

The computer crashed? The photocopier jammed? Someone spilled the coffee? Call the person who actually does things! That person will handle it!

This is the curse of competence. Work lands on your desk not because the work will challenge or interest you, but only because other folks trust you to handle it.

(Here’s a military analogy: During the Vietnam War, someone had to be the “point man,” taking the lead, and most exposed, position, as an infantry unit moved through the jungle. The point man would also often be the first person exposed to hostile fire. Vietnam vets have told me that they had to be very careful when serving on the point: You had to perform the duty sufficiently well to survive your stint, but not so impressively well that you’d be asked to do it again. If you performed the duty too well, you’d suffer the curse of competence: You’d be asked to take point again, which could shorten your time from cradle to tomb.)

Although I’ve made light of it here, the curse of competence is a real affliction. I’ve seen people suffer from it, and it’s a hard curse to exorcise. The competent person may be asked to do too much work, or too much tedious work, or too much of the same work, simply because everyone knows that the competent one will do it right. Why risk disaster when you can rely on the known quantity?

If you’re afflicted by the curse of competence, what can you do?

First, recognize this for what it is — the sincerest form of flattery. People may not tell you that they’re saddling you with work because they trust you, but they are. And being trusted is far better than simply being told that you’re trusted.

At the same time, gently cast out the demon. Mention to the person who’s unfairly burdening you that, although you’re delighted to help, you have many skills, and you’d like to use all of them, rather than the ones that are attracting attention. Explain that it’s not fair to leave you pinned down at home because you write great briefs, while the crappy brief-writers trot off to the trial site.

A supervisor who trusts you — and who demonstrates that trust in action, rather than words — will probably both understand your concern and fear losing you. (You are, after all, the competent one. That’s a scarce commodity, not easily replaced.) Once you point out the problem, the supervisor will probably come to your aid.

Do you suffer from the curse of competence? Be flattered!

But speak up. Folks may not realize what they’re unfairly doing to you. Once you point it out, your world may well improve.

Mark Herrmann is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel – Litigation and Employment at Aon, the world’s leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital and management consulting. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Inside Straight: Advice About Lawyering, In-House And Out, That Only The Internet Could Provide (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at inhouse@abovethelaw.com.

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