Hey Reader
We all know them. The high performers who crush every KPI, nail every presentation, and seem to be on a first-name basis with the C-suite. The colleagues whose LinkedIn profiles make the rest of us feel like we're standing still.
But here's what the performance reviews don't capture: not every top performer is someone you'd actually want to grab coffee with.
I'm thinking of someone I used to work with. On paper, he was exceptional. Never missed a deadline, delivered flawless work, and had senior leadership singing his praises at every quarterly review. His productivity metrics were enviable.
Working alongside him, though? That was a different experience entirely.
Collaboration felt like negotiation. Every project became his vision, his process, his way or the highway. Feedback was deflected, and alternative approaches dismissed before they were even heard. The kind of easy synergy that makes teams hum? It just wasn't there. Instead of energizing the room, his presence often had the opposite effect.
And yet, nothing changed. He was leadership's favourite, and truthfully, the results backed it up. He earned that recognition.
But here's what I noticed over time: when promotion announcements came around, his name drew the quietest response. Not because people resented his success, but because somewhere along the way, connection had been lost. The happy hour invitations, the impromptu brainstorms, the "let's celebrate this win" moments—he wasn't part of them. Not because anyone actively excluded him, but because his energy made distance feel easier than engagement.
Then came the internal transfer announcement. A new opportunity at another office, they said. His farewell was polite. Professional. Brief. People clapped, said the right things, and went back to their desks. He'd achieved a lot, no question. But the absence of warmth in that room told its own story. Excellence had earned him recognition, but his approach had cost him relationships.
Here's the truth we don't talk about enough in our hustle-forward professional culture: competence opens doors, but character and attitude determine who walks in with you. You can be brilliant at what you do and still find yourself professionally isolated. Your Slack messages can go unanswered, not because people are busy, but because they're choosing to be busy elsewhere.
This matters more than we might think. The connections we build—or don't build—shape our access to opportunities, our resilience during challenging projects, and ultimately, our career trajectory ahead of the curves we don’t see. The informal networks, the people who think of you when interesting projects come up, and the colleagues who genuinely want to see you succeed—these aren't nice-to-haves. They're essential infrastructure for long-term professional growth.
As we inch deeper into the new year, it's worth reflecting: are we building the kind of reputation that makes people want to work with us or just for us? Are we creating bridges or barriers?
Because true success isn't just about what you accomplish. It's about who's genuinely cheering for you when you do.
Josh 🙏🏼
