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In beginning a career—whether it is straight out of trade school, college, or high school—you are told that the way to make an impression and “move up” is to get things done. If people can put their faith in you, that will take you a long way.
There is a good chance that a promotion may then ensue. The apprentice becomes the partner, the ally. Now you need to show you can REALLY get things done and not just be a support for a mentor or supervisor. This could mean completing a long-overdue project for the department, writing a paper, or developing a method that resolves a long-standing problem or issue. People notice and say, “Man, that person really knows how to get things done.”
As I age, though, I have learned there is a different category of people who accomplish things in a more-stealthy manner. They do not fly to the problem, swooping in to clean it up. Rather, they stand back, letting things “bake out,” and then come in to reassess. With various attempts at a solution, the experienced manager has the tools to stand on the foundation of what failed and what almost succeeded.