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Here is a combination that is fairly prevalent in technical professions (yes, there are exceptions). You or your co-worker are a combination of:

• High IQ and deep technical knowledge.
• Introverted behaviors.
• Poor communication skills.

In their mind, they have already solved the problem. In their mind, explaining the problem and the solution would be stating the obvious and insulting their audience. In their mind, a rejection is too painful and simply not worth it. Dealing with “unreasonable” people who don’t “get it” is simply not worth the effort.

The number of such people in the workplace is disconcertingly high, especially in the junior ranks. Such people suffer the most in the workplace. They don’t realize that their co-workers are struggling with their own demons and don’t have the time to listen patiently to extract the gems that may lie within.

At a policy level, such people should be singled out for special training. The ROI is higher productivity and morale, leading to higher retention. Trying to tackle this problem on an individual level takes a lot of skill. It is like doing hand to hand combat. If you are not good at it, it will get messy and usually the consequences are not pretty. In fact the problem actually gets worse, because the people involved have lost trust in each other. The irony of it is that the person being helped usually feels “picked on” and under appreciated.