Why Do the Hardest Workers Never Get Promoted? Winning at Work — World Cup Edition
Winning at Work — World Cup Edition
Question: "Why do the hardest workers never get promoted?"
(a question high performers ask me)
Answer: Because visibility and value aren't the same thing. Promotions usually go to whoever's closest to the credit, not whoever did the most work — and hard workers tend to put their head down instead of making the follow-through visible. From my #WinningAtWork#WorldCupStyle series, look at #JudeBellingham's extra-time winner against Norway: the goal came off a rebound from a teammate's shot that didn't fully connect, and Bellingham was the one who'd already read it and crashed the box to finish it.
Nobody remembers that he was moving before the ball even bounced — they just remember the goal. The fix isn't working harder. It is being prepared and attentive. It's making sure the "second effort" — the follow-up, the save, the catch — gets seen, not just done.
Question: "How do I recover from bombing a presentation in front of my whole team?" (a question high performers ask me)
Answer: Nobody remembers the miss if you're the one who delivers next. From my #WinningAtWork#WorldCupStyle series, look at #KylianMbappé in France's quarter-final against Morocco — he stepped up to a first-half penalty, missed it in front of the entire world, and had to walk back onto the same pitch with everyone having just watched it happen. No off-season to reset, no next tournament to redeem himself in — just the rest of that same match. In the second half, he picked the ball up on the edge of the box and rifled in a stunning strike.
The instinct after a public stumble is to shrink and play it safe — the better move is staying in the game and making sure your very next real opportunity actually lands. Recovery doesn't happen in private. It happens in the next visible moment you get.
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🏆 Winning at work begins long before the first goal. It begins with everyone playing the same game.
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