The Skill of Becoming a "Familiar Devil" in Your Company

If you want faster promotions, larger bonuses, and to become the employee your manager cannot do without, there is a skill that isn't taught in universities or management books. Yet, it frequently recurs in work environments, and it might be one of the most influential factors in a career path—becoming a "familiar devil."

Imagine a company with two employees: the first is quiet, arrives early, performs his work with mastery, and leaves without fuss. The second is present in every meeting, knows when to speak, when to pass by his manager's office, and when to be around at the right moment. Time passes, and the promotion decision comes—who comes to the manager's mind first?

This is where the Familiar Devil is born; not because he is the most competent or productive employee, but because he has become familiar. The manager sees him often, hears his voice often, and gets used to his presence. Over time, the mind makes a quiet mistake, confusing familiarity with trust, trust with competence, and presence with merit.

The mind confuses familiarity with trust, and presence with merit.

Therefore, he begins to get more opportunities, then greater responsibilities, higher trust, and eventually a promotion—not because he is always the best, but because he is the most present in the decision-maker's memory.

And the problem doesn't stop at a single promotion; it changes the rules of the entire game. The messages employees read do not come from regulations, but from decisions. When they see that the closest person moves forward and the most visible is rewarded, everyone redefines success, shifting the focus from the quality of work to the quality of appearance.

As for the truly outstanding performer, they do not do this—not because they can't, but because they believe that performance should speak for itself. They watch silently until they realize that performance is no longer a sufficient criterion. At that point, they don't enter into conflicts, complain, or try to convince everyone of their value; they simply leave, knowing that the market is full of companies that still reward true competence.

The high performer doesn't complain much; they simply leave quietly.

To every manager: Beware of the day you start rewarding those you know better instead of those who deserve it more. The real danger isn't that the "familiar devil" succeeds, but that top performers become convinced that excellence is no longer the path to success.

At that moment, you won't lose just a single employee; you will begin losing an entire culture. Over time, only those who excel at adapting to the rules of the game will remain around you, while those who actually made a difference will leave. Environments that reward the incompetent don't fire high performers directly—they just make staying an illogical decision.

Beware of confusing familiarity with competence; what you are used to seeing isn't necessarily what deserves your reward. When you reward presence instead of impact, you don't lose a single person—you lose everyone who used to make a difference. And because the quality of thinking precedes the quality of results, the quality of whom you reward determines the quality of who stays with you.

Don't confuse familiarity with competence

Mohammed Bin Saleh

Interested in Management and Finance