The 9 Career Rules You Weren’t Told About 📋

During my 12 years at Microsoft, I once watched a brilliant engineer completely torpedo his career in a single quarterly review. This bloke could code circles around anyone, shipped features that saved the company millions, and possessed the kind of technical wizardry that made mere mortals weep.

But when promotion time came? Nothing. Silence. A sideways glance from management that spoke volumes.

His crime? He'd spent three months moaning about the coffee machine, rolled his eyes during strategy meetings, and made junior developers feel about as welcome as a vegan at a barbecue.

Meanwhile, Sarah from marketing - who couldn't tell Python from a snake - got the promotion she desperately wanted. Why? Because she understood something he didn't: your boss has a secret scorecard, and technical brilliance is just one small tick box.

That engineer left six months later, convinced the system was rigged. He wasn't entirely wrong, but he'd missed the point entirely.

The game wasn't rigged against him - he simply didn't know the rules.

The Invisible Rules Nobody Teaches You

Most talented people feel invisible at work, and it's not because they lack skills. It's because nobody taught them the invisible rules of the workplace game. Your boss maintains a mental checklist they'll never share openly, silently judging you on criteria that have bugger all to do with your job description.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: whilst you're obsessing over deliverables and KPIs, your boss is keeping a completely different scorecard. One that measures things they'd never dare put in your performance review, but which ultimately determines whether you get promoted, sidelined, or shown the door.

I've decoded the nine invisible metrics your boss uses to judge you - and more importantly, what you can actually do about them.

The Nine Secret Metrics (And How to Game Them Ethically)

1. Your Energy Signature

Your boss remembers your energy more than your words.

Walk into any meeting as the person who brings everyone down with complaints and gossip, and you've already lost. Instead, become the one who lifts others during tough times. Not in some nauseating, fake-positive way, but as someone who genuinely believes problems can be solved rather than just endured.

2. The Quality of Your Questions

Nodding along in meetings like a dashboard dog gets you precisely nowhere.

Smart questions, however, are career gold. Ask the questions that move conversations forward, challenge assumptions constructively, and demonstrate you're actually thinking, not just waiting for your turn to speak.

3. Your Failure Recovery Protocol

When things go wrong - and they will - your boss isn't watching for perfection.

They're watching how you handle the mess. Make excuses or blame others, and you're immediately filed under "liability." Own the mistake, focus on what you learned, and demonstrate growth, and you've just shown leadership potential.

4. Your Appetite for Difficulty

Constantly picking the easy, safe assignments marks you as someone who's given up on advancement.

The people who get promoted are those who raise their hands for the challenging projects that others avoid. Yes, it's riskier, but career advancement and playing it safe are mutually exclusive concepts.

5. Your Expectations vs. Reality Ratio

Expecting constant praise for doing your basic job is like expecting applause for showing up on time - it's the minimum, not an achievement.

Consistently going beyond expectations is what earns genuine recognition and separates the promoted from the plateau dwellers.

6. Your Human Decency Index

How you treat the receptionist, cleaning staff, and junior team members reveals more about your character than any presentation you'll ever give.

Be rude to people who "don't matter" and you've shown your boss exactly who you are when nobody's watching.

7. Your Innovation vs. Execution Balance

Waiting to be told exactly what to do brands you as a task-executor, not a strategic thinker.

Come to meetings with suggestions and solutions, not just problems and complaints. Your boss wants collaborators, not human order-takers.

8. Your Communication Style Under Pressure

When challenged or given feedback, do you become defensive and make excuses, or do you listen, absorb, and respond thoughtfully?

Your reaction to criticism is a direct preview of how you'll handle leadership responsibilities.

9. Your Team Player Coefficient

Throwing colleagues under the bus to make yourself look good is a career-limiting move disguised as ambition.

The most successful people I've worked with consistently lift others up and share wins collectively. Star performers who isolate themselves rarely make it to senior positions.

The Real Game

This isn't about playing politics - it's about playing smart with clarity and courage. Politics implies manipulation and deception. This is about understanding the unspoken elements of professional success and aligning your behaviour accordingly.

The harsh reality is that technical competence is merely your entry ticket to the game.

These nine factors determine whether you're playing to win or just participating. When you understand what's unspoken, you become genuinely unstoppable.

Your boss won't tell you about this scorecard because they probably don't even realise they're using it. It's subconscious, instinctive, and deeply human. But now that you know the rules, you can play the game strategically rather than stumbling through it blindly.

Your Action Plan

Stop waiting for someone to explain the rules. Here's what you do immediately:

This Week:

• Audit your last three meetings: were you asking questions or just absorbing information?

• Identify one challenging project or task you've been avoiding and volunteer for it

• Take genuine interest in how you can help a colleague succeed

This Month:

• Practice owning a mistake publicly and focusing on lessons learned rather than excuses

• Bring one concrete solution or suggestion to every meeting you attend

• Pay attention to how you treat people who can't directly advance your career

Ongoing:

• Monitor your energy contribution to team dynamics - are you lifting or lowering the room?

• When receiving feedback, pause before responding and ask clarifying questions instead of defending

• Look for opportunities to share credit and celebrate others' wins

The most successful people I've worked with understand that careers aren't built on talent alone - they're built on talent plus emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, and genuine leadership behaviour. Master these nine invisible metrics, and you'll find that visibility, promotion, and opportunities start flowing your way.

Your boss's secret scorecard isn't so secret anymore. Time to use it to your advantage.

Keep on rockin',

Harvey

Now this is another secret…ssshhh…🤫

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