The Irony of Arriving Among the Elite

To reach "elite" status from the outside, you must continually exceed expectations (which are naturally set lower because you are not connected).

But once you have reached elite status, you cannot exceed expectations, you can only meet them, or not.  As an outsider, the very instincts that vaulted you to the top of the heap can bring you down much more quickly.  To continue succeeding within the elite stratum, you must conform to expectations (or appear to do so).

The irony is that this practical reality implies that the elite are not elite, that there is a class beyond the elite that rules them, just as the elite rule the masses.