Comment by AdamN

> This leaves (1). This is why alignment and upward and outward visibility is so important - it banks you social capital with the people who have to allocate limited resources.

The problem is that (1) means that exceptional people in one org miss out (and leave or become demotivated) because they're in a higher bar org and those with low potential/performance in another org are protected because the bar is lower in that one. This is not good for the organization as a whole and is an anti-pattern.