Some people switch their behaviour depending on the type of person they meet. This is what I was observing in my colleague and thus gave him critique about it. This springs from an opportunistic leadership style.

Such people are rarely liked. They are abrasive with a lot of people they meet and selectively very nice to some. They use differential treatment to get along and progress in life. However, little do they realize that they cannot go too far.

However far they may go in life, in variably they will find themselves alone with no one to cheer and clap for them.