To become a more effective leader with a holistic business view, deliberately seek experience across various interconnected functions like operations, marketing, and sales. This strategy prevents the narrow perspective that often limits specialized leaders, even if it requires taking lateral or junior roles to learn.

Employees who strictly adhere to their job description are likely to remain in the same role for years. Going above and beyond, such as cleaning a boss's station to simply be in their orbit, builds a reputation and relationships that lead to unexpected opportunities.

Rachel Andrews's journey from planning Cvent's holiday party to Global Head of Events shows that growth comes from executing every small opportunity flawlessly. This hunger to "do more" demonstrates capability and opens doors to greater responsibility, rather than waiting for big, impressive projects to fall in your lap.

The true ROI of a great company culture is operational velocity. Long-tenured employees create a high-context environment where communication is efficient, meetings are shorter, and decisions are faster. This 'shared language' is a competitive advantage that allows you to scale more effectively than companies with high turnover.

Don't wait for a promotion or new job opening to grow. Proactively identify other teams' pain points and offer your expertise to help solve them. This proactive helpfulness builds relationships, demonstrates your value across the organization, and organically opens doors to new skills and responsibilities.

A linear career path is not required for success. Businesses ultimately value high performers who demonstrate an ownership mentality and consistently drive impact. Focusing on helping the business win creates opportunities to move across roles and industries, making your journey more valuable.

High-growth companies create a virtuous cycle for talent. The faster a company grows, the more career advancement opportunities it creates, which attracts the best people. This influx of A-players then accelerates growth further. Conversely, stagnation creates a vicious cycle, repelling top candidates and making growth harder to achieve.

The long-held belief that frequently changing jobs is a red flag on a resume was promoted by companies to maintain employee loyalty. Modern employers should be more empathetic and understand that people often need to explore different roles and industries to find the right career fit.

Working at a startup early in your career provides exposure across the entire hardware/software stack, a breadth that pays dividends later. Naveen Rao argues that large companies, by design, hire for specific, repeatable tasks, which can limit an engineer's adaptability and holistic problem-solving skills.