Are "office buddies" and "leadership" mutually exclusive?

A friend of mine is constantly complaining about her job - that it's boring, she's not getting anywhere, her boss is nasty, and she's underpaid. But she doesn't want to quit because of her office buddies! She has a group of buddies at work - they go to lunch together everyday, hangout on weekends, and of course gossip during the workday!

I never had a lot of buddies at work, but I have always found my job challenging and rewarding.

My friend and I are obviously at two extremes. Is anyone out there who is in the middleground? Or there is really NO middleground?

If you have a challenging job and you are good at it, chances are you are a leader and a b _ _ _ _ at the office!

If you have a non-threatening job and you have lots of friends, chances are you are one of the many invisible workers.

I admit I'm a b _ _ _ _ who dreams - and I want to believe you can be successful AND have a lot of friends at work. Please tell me this can happen? It may not happen to me, but it can happen?

posted by Office Buddies Day at 10:29 PM