2. Ambition
His mother always told him that he would be extraordinary one day. Special. Powerful. A man of note.
He believed her. Why wouldn't he? And he's done his best to live up to her words.
If it's true that everyone's a work in progress, well, it's also true that some people are much farther along than others.
Maybe some people are born with ambition while others have the fire lit by someone else, but he respects both types. The ones he doesn't get are people without any apparent signs of ambition. What is wrong with them? How can they possibly be content to wallow in mediocrity?
You either improve or you deteriorate is his motto. In his experience, most people, when they're forced to perform at an exceptional level do the latter. Some, if he's honest, surprise him. Not many do.
You can conceal ambition from the casual eye, and sometimes it's best to do so - but it's impossible to maintain permanently. Demonstrating ambition means that you're going to eventually stand out. Even the most oblivious higher-up will eventually realize that you're there on weekends and late nights, as well.
He sees a lot of power plays and jockeying for position, now that he's a higher-up himself, it's his job to separate the pretenders from the real deals. It's not hard. He just looks for the ones who remind him of him.