I worked with someone who obviously put little effort into understanding things, and shamelessly and "tirelessly" asked others to help him do things, help him m

I worked with someone who obviously put little effort into understanding things, and shamelessly and "tirelessly" asked others to help him do things, help him make decisions, etc. no matter how incompetent or illiterate it made him look. The coin he paid for unending assistance was charm, humor and a posture of humbleness and appreciation. This strategy was such a constant, that the people around this person ended up self-selected to be people who genuinely liked to help others, and who had a deficit of positive recognition of their value that they appreciated being filled. Counterintuitively to me, this occasionally involved some good things coalescing around this person - as there are a lot of talented under appreciated people and bringing them together can spark serendipity. There were also some major downsides at times.