“Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.”
–Elmer Leterman
I have seen people talk their way into positions and then sit their way out of them because of lack of action, an inability or unwillingness to do the job leading to them being shown the door out.
If you accept a job, do the job as if it is the most important thing in the company even if it is the most menial. Startup companies require wearing multiple hats and sometimes you have to sweep the floor and make the coffee to land the deal that leads to the survival of the organization and IPO.
Small organizations depend upon everyone carrying their own weight and more, whereas larger groups enable individuals to hide behind the work of others and play political games to rise up the hierarchy. Too often the shady character gets promoted because of the optics instead of the candidates that don’t build alliances and trade favors, but these are the leaders needed for innovation and expansion because they will do the work and not cut corners or cut people out because they know right and wrong and model it while working for their team more than self. Not because HR tells them to or because of maneuvering, but because it is in their character to do what is best for most.