The Annoying, Go-Getting Colleague: Beat Her or Emulate Her?

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Hating the Game

Manager 3 is clearly willing to take initiative. I can see why that could be grating, but instead of becoming frustrated, perhaps you should adopt some of the strategies that serve her so well. You say that she’s going beyond the “actual job description,” but that is, generally, what it takes to succeed in almost any endeavor. You want your professional life to arrange itself according to your preferences, but the only way to achieve that is to be self-employed. If you simply want to work to the job description, as is your right, that’s fine! But you can’t do that and resent people who choose to do more.

Now, the most interesting part of your letter is that you have better numbers. Find ways to highlight that! You don’t even need to bring Manager 3 into that conversation. You’re succeeding — let it be known! When you carry out interesting ideas, take credit. Your colleague is really good at self-promotion. Instead of being angry with her, consider which of her strategies you can adopt. There are ways of “playing the game” that don’t feel like you’re playing the game.

Blocking My Blessings

I warmly encourage you to stop overthinking a recognition you’ve clearly earned. I don’t really understand why you took yourself out of consideration based on semantics. The people who nominated you believe that you went above and beyond, and that’s all you need to know. Yes, you should let the appropriate people know that you’ve changed your mind, and are grateful for the consideration.