natural ceilings

An odd thing I noticed a long time ago when I was I in the Army was that most of the Lieutenant Colonels I met used to give me a really bad time, and were unpleasant to work with. I accepted this as I assumed that as a young Lieutenant, I was forever mucking things up and the only way I was going to become good at my job, is to have my errors both professional and personal, repeatedly and forcefully pointed out to me.

The odd thing though was that whenever I met a General, they seemed to be genuinely nice people. Sometimes a bit grandfatherly, sometimes a bit scary – but always calm people who made you feel good about yourself and made you feel you could achieve more and were going onto great things. They were also always capable of explaining the “why” of any situation using words or reference points I could understand.

I pondered this on and off for a couple of years, wondering if there was some special course that General’s did that turned them into nice people.

Eventually at a Dining In Night, I plucked up the courage to voice my observation and ask the old general I was sitting next to whether there was a special course they went on. He responded, somewhat drolly, “no son, its just that Lieutenant Colonel is the natural ceiling for the arsehole”.

I’ve taken it with me all my life and it tends to pop into my head unbidden, whenever I am treated badly by someone who perceives themselves as very senior.

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