When you started with "il sound elitist" I was getting ready to get angry. But as I read the rest of it - I wasnt sure what the elitist part of it is. I actually thought I was the elitist one when I shunned impressing others for a career (and oh boy has that cost me!) only to wonder after decades in a career where the F it all went by with nothing to show for. Really good advice btw. If you want a career sometimes you need to put your ego aside.

Yes yes a career can mean different things for different folks. (specifically) in this context il take it to mean working in a stable job that pays enough and consistently to help you take care of things/people you care about comfortably.

None of the people that impressed me in my career were actively trying to do so.

They were simply professional and productive, which distinguished from the average colleague I had.

None of them was doing much extra, but during their 8/5 they moved projects ahead consistently and were reliable.

I can't stress how even such basic things are imho rare so obviously every time there were positions open in companies I've worked for I tried to get them in.

Even among those good performers there's still another selection in my eyes, when it comes to soft skills and how they handle stress or managers. A bit of political skills are always handy to have.

I don't consider myself personally above the but I know those people are courted, and not just by me but many other former colleagues.

reliability has been the number one trait that always makes me want to work with them again on a project or whatever. don't even care if they were more aggressive or cynical or whatever trait. if they're often (as in always) right about things, I can shrug off everything else.