Many people believe that as a subordinate employee, job ability should be the top priority. However, this is not necessarily true. Job ability is just a ticket to enter a company, it does not guarantee promotion. A smart boss values the level of understanding between the employee and themselves. Even if you have strong abilities, if you cannot meet the "psychological contract" of the boss, it is in vain.

Xiao Wang has strong business abilities, excelling in every task. All the projects he is responsible for are guaranteed to be completed on time and with high quality! Xiao Li's business ability is not strong nor weak, just average to slightly above average. Some of the projects he is responsible for are indeed completed with high quality, but some are completed in a mediocre manner. Looking at their business performance, Xiao Li is really not as good as Xiao Wang.

Two years later, there is a promotion opportunity in the company, and the leader recommends Xiao Li without hesitation! Xiao Wang feels very upset and goes to have a drink with a senior colleague who is already a leader. The senior colleague asks him a question: "Who do you think has stronger job ability, you or Xiao Li?" Xiao Wang confidently says, "Do you even need to ask? It's definitely me! I am much stronger than him!" The senior colleague laughs and says, "Maybe a little stronger, but not much stronger! Didn't Xiao Li also complete many high-quality projects? Being able to complete these high-quality projects shows that his job ability is similar to yours, at least not significantly worse!" Surprised, Xiao Wang asks, "But Xiao Li also did some bad projects, right?" After slowly drinking a glass of wine, the senior colleague slowly says, "Perhaps he did it on purpose!" 

In reality, ability is just basic skills. If you want to get promoted and go further, the key is to know when to advance and when to retreat. What does it mean to know when to advance and retreat? It means not exerting equal effort at all times. When it's time to move forward, give it your all, and when it's time to retreat, step back and accumulate strength for the next advancement! 

The senior colleague smiles and says to Xiao Wang, "Think carefully about those bad projects of Xiao Li. They are probably ones that the leaders don't really care about, right? And what about you? Regardless of the project or its importance, whether the leaders pay attention or not, you put in maximum effort, not only exhausting yourself but also increasing the average workload of the entire department.

This is clearly something leaders do not want to see." Xiao Wang takes a sip of his drink and falls into deep contemplation...