Striving for leadership seemed like a path of diminishing, even negative returns for me in a corporate job. Those at the top worked twice as hard (at least) for maybe 10% more pay and were just as subject to layoffs as I was. The economics dictated that I just go with the flow.
There's also a risk in the corporate world. Bad managers see leaders as threats and terminate them. I've seen it happen too many times in my careeer.
Now I'm on an different path, where leadership is demanded and rewarded (startups), so my attitude is very different. I have a long ways to go.
That is true. It is usually very difficult to impossible to get a leadership job in a big corporation, if only because the corporation is (hopefully) going in one direction and only needs a finite number of leaders to take it there.
However, once all those people who strived for leadership roles leave the corporation and start their own startups, they're at a distinct advantage over those who slacked off the whole time because there weren't opportunities available. You aren't going to change the company, but you can probably change yourself.
One of the things I regret, in hindsight, about my college experience is that I really didn't try very hard. I thought it was pointless (which it kinda was, professionally), but I didn't realize until my last semester that I could've made it meaningful.
Peter Norvig put it well: "Be the best programmer on some projects, and the worst on others."
I think this is a good point and think it has been brought up with google many times here on HN such as why google recruiters look for As in all their subjects. Employers want someone who will follow the rules and follow them well, especially if they are smart; but if you want to succeed with a product or as a company you kind of need to start to lead.
Dude, if you think Google is looking for people who will follow the rules and follow them well, you must know a different Google than the one I work at...
The vast majority of things you read in the press (including blogs) are wrong. Not just about Google. Compare what the media says about any topic with which you have expertise vs. what your actual expertise tells you.
FWIW, I had a 3.0 GPA and flunked two physics courses, and they still hired me.
There's also a risk in the corporate world. Bad managers see leaders as threats and terminate them. I've seen it happen too many times in my careeer.
Now I'm on an different path, where leadership is demanded and rewarded (startups), so my attitude is very different. I have a long ways to go.