When competence becomes a liability

Competence is one of the most rewarded qualities in the workplace—it earns trust, opens doors, and creates opportunities. When something important needs to get done, organizations naturally gravitate toward the people who have demonstrated that they can handle it. For many high achievers, competence becomes a source of identity as much as a skill. They are the person who can step into a difficult conversation, untangle a messy problem, manage a crisis, or hold a complicated project together w...