Workplace Personalities - The Golden Child

You know the type I'm talking about.

He always looks good - even on dress down Fridays the T-shirt he wears is uberkewl.

He never says the wrong thing. 

You're standing between the cubes, it's Friday afternoon, and everyone is laughing at some story or other.  Team member one make a slightly dirty - but very funny - comment, and team member two counters with something just as dirty and just as funny.  The Golden Child opens his mouth and you think - finally! - he's going to say something non-PC.  He takes a breath in... then stops himself.  His self-control never wavers.

If you pass his desk and look down at a presentation he's prepared, you realize that is work is annoyingly, bafflingly, utterly impeccable.  He's managed to fit research, options and ROI onto one sheet - in color. 

"How does he do it?" you ask yourself.

• Does he work from home every night?
• Does he have better experience or education than I do?
• Does he have an abnormally high IQ?

You watch him in meetings, trying to follow his train of thought and how he got to that excellent question, that perfectly phrased feedback.

You have conversations over coffee, asking him advice, telling yourself you can learn from him, he can mentor you, even if he is seven years younger than you are.

You try to find out his secret, his method, his Mojo. 

But nothing works.

He just is.

He's a phenomenon, slipping like 4 stroke oil through the corporate machine, fitting in with everyone and everything.

And you hate him.

With a passion.

Key signs:

• Workplace Mojo
• More workplace Mojo
• Even more workplace Mojo

Catch phrase: There isn't one.  Depending on the situation, he just always says exactly the right thing.

Your strategy:

 Try to imitate.  Asking for advice directly is a waste of time.  I'm not sure even he knows how he does it.  If you have to, write down what he says so you can later copy his turn of phrase.  If you can, work for him.  Hitch your career to his wagon - he's going places.

Their comeuppance:

 There isn't one.  This guys climbing the ladder, Baby.  Upwards and onwards. 

To read more in the Workplace Personalities series, click here.

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