Being humble is easier than being a know it all

humble comic

It is the strangest thing in IT. People want to act like they know it all, and it is easier and better for everyone when you are humble.

I have shared before that I have worked with jerks at work. At times some coworkers were so hostile and offensive and combined with a manger who didn’t care, caused me to leave that company. I don’t deserve to be abused. No one does. When people leave it is often because they haven’t been treated with respect. They don’t tell HR and they don’t tell during the exit interview. When jobs are plentiful why shouldn’t someone go somewhere else if they don’t like where they are?

The problem is simple. When you are a know it all, you always have pressure to be right. I know that I don’t know it all, so I don’t need to be right. I can find out the answer and then fix the problem. My worth as a person doesn’t depend on the things that I know but the things that I can do or am. I can fix any problem and I care about how things work out.

This means that sometimes you have to miss being picked for a job that you could do because you are humble. When you are humble people think you might be less intelligent or even stupid. Many times people harshly judge you and they have not the foggiest idea of who you are as a person.

Still no matter what the cost in terms of dollars being humble costs, ultimately for me it is worth it. I don’t want to work with arrogant jerks who think the value of someone is in what they know. I have had interviews where the interviewer was so prideful and arrogant I knew immediately that I would not enjoy working in that company. I was glad to be rejected after many interviews because I don’t want to work with those kind of people. You can be professional and respectful and still recognize that you don’t need to know it all.

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