Can Being a Superstar Be a Disadvantage?

I have been really busy recently but not necessarily because of all the dire news the media is reporting about the economy. Certainly some of my clients are in the financial and mortgage industries and have, therefore, been affected by current events but most of my clients are what I call “superstars”. Superstars, for the purposes of this article, are those individuals who for most of their careers don’t need to write a great resume because their accomplishments are so notable that they get recruited from job to job based on word-of-mouth. Then, one day, for whatever reason, the phone stops ringing as frequently. Or the superstar gets laid off. Or the superstar realizes that the career path that he/she has been on isn’t the one he/she wants to continue on. And then the superstar calls me or any one of the top notch career coaches or recruiters I partner with to try to figure out, for the first, time: what’s the next step in my career?

I love working with superstars. I hear the best stories. I especially love it when my superstar clients have been involved in high profile projects/businesses that I have heard about on the news – its fun to get the scoop from an insider. But I have started thinking that being a super-achiever can be a disadvantage when it comes to learning to adapt and be flexible within a corporate environment. Superstars don’t have to put up with a lot of B.S. because whenever they are unhappy or even annoyed they can pick up the phone and accept any one of the standing offers they keep in their back pockets. Superstars don’t have to learn to resolve problems or interpersonal conflict because as soon as they don’t like their work environment they get up and leave for greener pastures.
In a way, being a superstar in a corporate environment is a lot like being a movie star: everyone wants you and you can get away with an awful lot as long as you show up and do whatever it is that has made you a star. But, usually, you don’t remain a star for your entire career because either you get tired of what you are doing or someone younger, faster, or smarter comes along and steals your “superstar” crown. I think that if you are lucky enough to be a superstar you should go out of your way to learn to be flexible and to get along with others rather than just bailing when you see a few clouds on the horizon. If you don’t learn to play nicely with others and to weather corporate storms early in your career you may find it’s much more difficult to learn those things later on when you really need patience and flexibility.
Article by Liz Handlin and courtesy of Ultimate Resumes

Originally posted by Candice A