Star-Connections shape Careers 9 Years long

British study: Pros and Cons are keeping a Balance

 

 

 

 

 

Having worked close to someone like Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, the Queen or Niki Lauda provides young superiors a big advantage: when proceeding in their career they do get better job opportunities and even with weak performances they aren´t likely to get fired due to their connection to a former star in the field.

This has a major disadvantage, though, too: regularly expectations are flying so high that any particular performance is seen as normal and is not appreciated and honored as it should be. Non-star-connected employees on the contrary do benefit from job-promotions in case of outstanding merits much more often.

These are the outcomes of a British study recently published. Altogether the reputation “being connected with xy” persists amazingly for 9 years.

Liu/Kilduff/Lee/Fisher, “Buffered by Reflected Glory? The Effects of Star Connections on Career Outcomes”, in: “Journal of Applied Psychology”, 2025, vol. 110, no. 11, 1490-1510.

From the practice:

There are always two sides of a coin: high expectation pressure may be stressful – regardless if it comes from your connection to a hero in his/her area, from a bunch of degrees by well known universities your CV is showing or if you have been compared with your ancient ones as the kid of super sucessfull and prominent parents your whole life. It´s not enough a relief that according to this study you would be protected longer than others if you are not performing.

Still – in my opinion – it pays off absolutely to learn from the best! But don´t emphasize these experiences permanently and live from them only – that´s not likeable. Take your star-connection as a ressource for outstanding performances in the future. And exhibit them to your current employer – self confident, but unpretentiously