I have also been in a number of jobs (many years ago) where I was criticized for doing a better job than my colleagues. I think it is pretty standard, unfortunately, for "the tallest peg to be beaten down" .... and there are often cultural factors at play as well.

In my experience in the US, this problem often arises when a company is billing for services and they lose money when a job is performed better or faster; or when the work performed is out of billable scope.

In Asia, my experience has been that individual achievement is less important than the group harmony; so anything perceived to be outstanding by an individual which is not the norm for the group as a whole can have seriously negative repercussions.

Either way, the issues are political and social; and many highly skilled technical people are not really "tuned in" to political and social issues at work; this is often because politics and culture are not "logical" nor "intelligent" and neither are taught in technical classes and course work.

For the individual, what is important is to be "adaptive" and to either quickly adjust to the political, business and social aspects of an environment; or move to where there is a better fit and higher comfort level.