leo burghaus

I recently got asked an interesting question. Why do some people earn more than others, even in the same professions and levels of responsibility?

Factors like intelligence, education, and skills help. But I’ve seen that there’s other, more important elements to it. Those can be often observed in workers who perform the best long-term.

When thinking about them, we may think they use Machiavellian tactics to get to the top. Those might work short-term and get you some success. But the more high-achievers I meet, the more I realize they get the same bad reputations as alpha male chimps. Much in the same way, they display positive attitudes that get them support from others.

So, let’s look how high-achievers and alpha chimps actually get where they are.

Getting along

Some believe assholes finish first. And it might look like that if you use short-term thinking. But in the long run, being a prick seldom works out. High-earners don’t let other people walk over them. But they will create good and long-lasting relationships with everyone. Or most of the people.

Individuals that make others feel welcomed and respected get a higher standing in their social hierarchy.

A good example from the chimps is grooming. Grooming is the way chimps form alliances. It’s nature’s equivalent of talking around the water cooler. There are many factors that affect chimps groom each other. But alpha chimps groom that same amount of time with high-, middle- and low- ranking chimps in the group. Lower ranking chimps mostly groom up.

That goes in line with behaviors we can see in business. The most supported people are those that get along with everyone in the organization. You’ll see them giving the same respect to juniors and newcomers than they would to directors.

The more alliances you have, the better.

Be trusted

This one is obvious. Both businesses and the jungle are cooperation games. We don’t get far alone.

Trust is one of the main reasons why assholes don’t get too far. Or not as far as they could. Trust is earned and there’s little shortcuts for it.

In the labor world, trust can mean getting selected for a special project. Or getting a seat at a table, and getting presented to somebody important. It can mean being able to get more people on your side, or not getting into trouble, or being promoted.

For chimps, try keeping your top rank after double-crossing others.

Reliability

When things need to get done, high-achievers get them done. And they do them right. There are no excuses, or motives why it’s not possible. There is no need to double-check the outcome.

If you’re paying someone double the amount of what others get, it’s because you know that the job will get done.

In the same way, alpha chimps get where they are because they help provide stability and food. That’s their main job. Once they stop doing that, it becomes very challenging to keep their position.

Pick their fights

Sometimes there’s fight. That could either mean getting some of the limited food. Or it could mean having to stand up for yourself. Or voicing your concerns about a new strategy implemented. Or expressing doubts with a coworkers reasoning.

The thing is: most individuals don’t like to fight with you. And if you’re someone that usually gets into arguments, your liking will decrease. That’s why it’s important for people to choose wisely which are worthy causes, and which aren’t.

Most annoying events are not worth making enemies over. And those that are, need to be fought right. Which brings us to the next point.

Know how to handle an argument

It’s not only about knowing when it’s worth it to impose your way, but also to do it in a way that doesn’t harm you long-term. Not everyone knows how to handle tense situations, without loosing social status.

Yes, you want things to go as you think is best. But you also want to keep the respect you had before. Navigating that is not easy.

They are competitive but cooperate

Both in the jungle and in the offices, people and chimps will have to rub shoulders with each other. And the winner has to want to win. The thing is, it needs to be fair, and individual and group needs have to be aligned.

Weakening the group for selfish reasons won’t do you any favors if you want to keep your position.

We learn this as children, and so do chimps. We play games, go against each other, try to win. Cheating or creating chaos seldom pays out. The children that do so, rapidly get excluded from the next games.

You won’t see the best managers getting into their positions by badmouthing. Elite sales-people don’t get there faking numbers. The waiters in the best restaurants are not sabotaging the rest of the team.

Mediocre people are often people with big ambitions but the wrong tactics.

Take risks

High-earners don’t have problems deciding on risks.

The same way alpha chimps are the ones deciding what risks to take. Yes, it is expected from them due to their position. But they display smart risk-taking behavior early, which helps them get where they are.

Exploration is one example: for chimps, it’s what territories are worth examining. For high-earners, it’s ways of improving their department or business decisions.

Or acquisition: the same way the powerful chimps take risks to get new foods, high-earners will take risks to gain more resources.

One thing to consider, even if they are happier with risk, they are not senseless or careless. They are good at deciding which risks to take, and which don’t make sense. So apart from their attitude towards risks, they have decision-making systems. And a good intuition.

So?

All in all, players on top of hierarchies make things easier, or better. Usually, both.