Here’s something nobody tells you about getting really good at something.
Excellence turns you into a magnet.
The more competent, disciplined, and reliable you become, the more people get pulled toward you.
And they get pulled for two very different reasons.
You’re going to attract learners.
These are the ones who see how you operate and think, “I want to get there.” They ask questions. They take correction. They show up prepared. They carry their weight. Excellence doesn’t threaten them. It challenges them.
Pour into those people. They make you better.
But you’re also going to attract leeches.
And here’s the uncomfortable part.
Leeches don’t actually like excellence. It makes them insecure. It exposes their laziness. They’ll roll their eyes at your standards and secretly hope you fail.
But they also recognize that being near excellence benefits them.
So they attach themselves.
They let you take the hard calls.
They let you carry the load.
They let you raise the bar while they stand in the glow.
They resent you… and rely on you.
The better you get, the stronger the magnet gets.
So if you feel like success suddenly brought more dead weight into your orbit, don’t be surprised. That’s physics.
Learners move toward you because they want to rise.
Leeches move toward you because they want to hide.
Leadership isn’t just becoming excellent.
It’s knowing which is which… and dealing with both swiftly.
Not violently. Relax.
But clearly.
Because competence attracts everyone.
Standards decide who stays.