What actually creates career leverage now
Read time: 6 minutes
Years ago, the belief was that success was directly tied to a person's willing to "work hard": longer hours, more sacrifice, more pressure, and ultimately more output.
And for me, medicine reinforced that belief. There's a strong culture of endurance in that career: long shifts, exams, audits, maybe a PhD. You keep going, keep pushing and are constantly proving yourself.
So for a long time, that’s exactly what I did.
But after leaving medicine behind and moving into tech I realised an uncomfortable truth: those furthest ahead aren’t necessarily working harder than others. They’re just operating differently.
They think more carefully about leverage, visibility, and where their effort actually goes. Here are a four things that change how they approach work and career:
1. They create things that work when they’re not in the room
One thing I’ve noticed: high leverage people tend to build assets, not just output. That could be:
- content
- systems
- audience
- products
- relationships
Things that keep creating value even when they’re offline. Earlier in my career, almost all my work was tied to my time. If I stopped working, everything stopped too.
Now, I think much more careful about what compounds, and still creates opportunity when I’m not actively working.
2. They make themselves easier to find
So many talented people stay almost completely invisible professionally. They do amazing work, but few people outside their orbit know they exist.
Meanwhile, other people are sharing content, building networks, and creating visibility around themselves. Over time, they attract more opportunities. Not always because they’re better. But because they’re easier to discover, understand and connect with.
3. They optimise for energy, not just productivity
This is something I’ve changed my mind about quite significantly. I used to think being ambitious meant constantly pushing harder.
Now I think managing my energy matters a lot more than relentless output. Because when people are exhausted:
- creativity drops
- relationships suffer
- thinking is less sharp
- decision-making is worse
The people who sustain success over time usually build lives and careers that are energising for them, not just impressive from the outside.
Pay attention to what genuinely energises you versus what consistently drains you.
4. They think beyond the next promotion
Traditional career paths encourage quite linear thinking: the next role, the next title, the next salary jump.
But I think the most successful people are now thinking more broadly. They’re building:
- audience
- skills that transfer
- multiple income streams
- relationships outside one organisation
In other words, they’re creating flexibility. And that becomes incredibly valuable in a world that's changing so quickly.
The takeaway
Of course, hard work still matters enormously. But I think hard work alone is no longer enough.
The people getting ahead today are often the ones combining effort with leverage, visibility, adaptability and intentional career design.
And I think those things now matter just as much as raw talent.
Speak soon,
Dupé
PS: Whenever you're ready, feel free to enquire about working together: Get guidance on how to be more visible and grow your brand. Whether you need 1:1 coaching or ready-to-post content, hit reply and let’s chat!
