that whole damning with faint praise thing

You can't go by what anyone says. I mean, we're all constantly repositioning ourselves in the context of whatever situation we're in. So someone saying "She's a hard worker" could mean "I want to be perceived as higher on the talent food chain to her--but generous" or "I want you to know that I don't consider her talented but I also want you to think I'm classy" or maybe even "She works hard."