Warning: Links contain the F-Word. Yup, you guessed it, Fortran. :-D
Hugh Macleod at Gaping Void wrote the following concerning working with exceptional people:
Seek out the exceptional minds, avoid everyone else. ... I will spend the rest of my professional life working with visionaries. I know who they are, they know who they are. Everybody else I will toss out like old furniture.
I totally agree with this. If you want to get ahead you need to be surrounded by people who will inspire and challenge you. Exceptional people tend to foster an environment where a person can excel simply by working in that vein. A person who is so inclined can learn a great deal from working with these types of people, the ones who get the big picture as well seeing all the little details.
Compare that to a "typical" work environment and the people that you'll find in many organizations:
1. The Watercooler Gang. These are bitter people who are fed up with their jobs, the nine to fiver's. Do the minimum and slink out at the end of the day (or earlier).
2. Slackers. The ones just squeezing by on a little bit of knowledge, usually by doing the minimum.
3. Backstabbers. The ones that will try to discredit others at every opportunity if it makes them look good. They're the ones who are usually your best friends to your face too.
4. Issue pushers. People who just want to get the work off of their plate and onto anyone else's. It's also amazing how many of these types end up in middle management.
So, what's the answer? Get out, surround yourself with the exceptional and strive to be one of them. And if that means that it can't be done at work (for now!) then do it on your own time. It's a big connected world out there, meet new people and be inspired and inspire in turn.
Ah! Feels good to get that off of my chest.....