According to Gorick Ng, a Harvard career advisor and author of the bestseller The Unspoken Rules, the "secret" to success lies in a hidden rubric that schools never teach.
While school rewards you for following instructions and getting the right answers, the workplace rewards you for navigating ambiguity. Ng breaks this down into three core questions—the "Three Cs"—that every manager and colleague is silently asking about you:
1. Competence: "Can you do the job?"
In school, competence is shown by getting an 'A' on a test. In the workplace, it’s about reliability and managing expectations.
The Unspoken Rule: Don't just do the work; communicate the status of the work. Ng suggests using the "Why, What, How, By When" framework. If you can't meet a deadline, the competent move isn't to work harder in silence—it's to flag it early so your manager isn't surprised.
2. Commitment: "Are you excited to be here?"
Managers want to know you aren’t just "punching the clock."
The Unspoken Rule: Commitment is shown through proactivity. Instead of waiting for a syllabus or a list of tasks (as you would in school), high performers look for "low-hanging fruit"—problems that are annoying the team, but no one has had time to fix—and solve them without being asked.
3. Compatibility: "Do we get along with you?"
This is often the hardest rule for high-achieving students to grasp. Success isn't just about your output; it's about your integration into the team culture.
The Unspoken Rule: Identify the "influencers" and the "swimlanes." Every office has a social hierarchy that doesn't appear on the official org chart. Compatibility means understanding the team's "comfort zones" (the jokes, the language, and the communication styles they prefer) and showing that you can "read the room."
Three Key Strategies "Not Taught in School"
Avoid "Stupid Questions": In school, we are told, "there are no stupid questions." Ng disagrees. In the professional world, a "stupid question" is one you could have answered yourself with 10 minutes of research. The Secret: Always do your homework first and say, "I looked into X and Y, but I'm still stuck on Z," rather than just asking, "How do I do this?"
Manage Your Manager: Your manager is your most important "customer." Success means figuring out their specific preferences: Do they want a weekly email or a quick Slack update? Do they care more about the big picture or the tiny details? Aligning with their priorities makes you indispensable.
The "Golden Rule" of the Workplace: According to Ng, the most important unspoken rule is to always show you want to learn and help. Early in your career, you should be in "Learner Mode" (taking notes, asking smart questions). As you grow, you shift to "Leader Mode" (taking ownership), but you never stop looking for ways to make your colleagues' lives easier.
Hard work is just the "entry fee." To actually get promoted and succeed, you have to master the social and political dynamics that were never on the curriculum.