3 Odd Signs You Are The Only Highly Intelligent Person At Your Job

One of the main issues in the workplace has little to do with work, at all. Interacting with co-workers presents a unique challenge for many people.

It’s important to be kind and friendly but not so kind that you’re seen as weak. Direct communication is valued, but if you’re too direct, you might be called pushy.

Katarina Esko, a professional coach, has witnessed how being highly intelligent affects social interactions, especially when you’re the sole brainiac at work.

Here are 3 odd signs you are the only highly intelligent person at your job:

1. You constantly feel like you’re being pranked

Esko explained that a common situation for highly intelligent people is to feel like there’s some kind of prank going on that they’re not a part of, noting that the first sign of being the only highly intelligent person at your job is that “You’ve found yourself in a situation, more than once, where you feel like you’re on Candid Camera.”

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She gave an example: “You’re solving a problem, and you’re 100 percent sure that you are correct in your solution, but everyone else has come to a different solution, and you feel like you’re on "Candid Camera" because you think everyone is pranking you.”

“The solution or the answer to the task at hand is so clearly visible to you that you do not understand that others do not see it,” she said. “In this situation, someone may even call you stupid or make you feel like you’re stupid for having a different solution to a problem.”

Being highly intelligent means having higher-level abilities in certain areas, such as abstract reasoning and decision-making.

Yet it’s important to recognize that there are various forms of intelligence that go beyond excelling at problem-solving, such as having high emotional intelligence.

In 1983, psychologist Howard Gardner developed the idea that there are multiple kinds of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist.

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In 1985, Robert Sternberg posited his three-category theory of intelligence that filled in gaps in Gardner’s theory.

The triarchic theory of intelligence maintains that intelligence has three aspects: analytical, creative, and practical.

Sternberg defined intelligence as an individual's ability to achieve success, based on personal standards and sociocultural context.

An ideal workplace acknowledges that employees may have different levels of intelligence and attempts to create a space that supports everyone, not just a chosen few.

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2. You come up with different answers than your co-workers

Esko explained the second odd sign that you’re the only highly intelligent person in your workspace, which is that your solutions and answers are consistently different from everyone else’s.

She shared that this experience can lead to a sense of self-doubt, as “You start to wonder, ‘What is it that you’re not getting? Are you so stupid that you don’t get it? Are you missing some vital information needed for the correct solution?’”

Self-doubt is never a comfortable feeling, yet there are actionable steps to take to overcome it.

Dr. Julie Smith, a psychologist, shared insights on moving past self-doubt. She explained that self-doubt is often fueled by avoidance, saying, “The more you avoid something, the more you will believe in that narrative that says, ‘I would never have been good enough anyway.’”

Dr. Smith believes that “Tackling self-doubt demands courageous action in the direction of something that matters to you.”

She also noted that part of overcoming self-doubt is “making this radical decision to let that self-doubt come along for the ride as you do that scary thing; it won’t hold you back anymore.”

By offering yourself radical acceptance and the understanding that all people, including those who are highly intelligent, experience some level of self-doubt, the hold it has over you begins to release.

3. You’re faster at processing complex information than anyone else

Esko explained that another sign of being highly intelligent is being a very quick processor compared to other people.

“You may be in a meeting, you solve some problem, and 15 minutes into the meeting, you feel like the solution is already there, visible for everyone, but everyone else keeps talking about things that aren’t even related to the solution,” she said.

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This can create a feeling of deep frustration for the highly intelligent individual, which leads to them “just blurting out the solution, in a matter in which everyone knows the discussion is over.”

“The others may even think you are angry and not a team player because of this behavior, but the fact is that you are much quicker at processing the problem and solving the problem than anyone else.”

“If any of these situations feel familiar to you, you might be highly intelligent,” Esko concluded.

She believes that highly intelligent people have one specific trait in common: They don’t actually think that they’re highly intelligent.

“They don’t think that they’re intelligent,” she explained. “In fact, they feel quite a lot of shame about their intelligence, and they have been kind of taught to think you’re not allowed to say you’re intelligent, or being intelligent is something bad, something to feel shame about.”

Esko shared how her work as a coach helps highly intelligent people process and unpack their feelings of self-doubt and shame.

She noted how interesting the commonalities are, saying that her clients experience the same challenges “that are taking up a lot of space” in their life.

“My job is to help them understand that they are [a] wonderful person and intelligence is a gift, and there are things they need to consider about their mental health because they have so much cognitive capacity,” she said.

Taking care of our mental health, especially when we feel out of place, should be a top priority. Knowing ourselves is the first step to caring for ourselves, which in part, is what Esko’s goal is in helping highly intelligent people feel at home in their jobs. 

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Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.