I think the answer to your question is that there is not one type of 'top developer'. Some people are good at implementing features fast, some at designing scal

I think the answer to your question is that there is not one type of 'top developer'. Some people are good at implementing features fast, some at designing scalable architectures, some are experts at designing algorithms, some people know every detail about how a given system works (an api, database, operating system, cpu) and some can find bugs very quickly in code they've never seen before. All these require a different mindset and different approach. There is not one way to become successful.