I think everyone should keep in mind that zell and Clan honor are the modern day equivalents of Axe body spray. It's all about giving you an advantage in reproduction.
You've not only got competition between commanding officers, but you've got competition within the star itself. Let's say I'm mechwarrior Joe, and I'd really like to get a Bloodname. I'm a 2/3 pilot, so I'm basically good enough, but I need to get some glory and get my name out there so that people will take me seriously the next time a Bloodname comes open. So I need to take calculated risks to show how awesome I am. I want to win, but I also want to take on odds that show I cut it a little close a couple of times. From an in-game perspective, I need to take on challenges that really display my 2/3 piloting, things that a lesser pilot really couldn't do.
So let's say I'm assigned a Black Hawk. If I take the Alternate A configuration, I've got two ER PPCs. I can fight these Inner Sphere guys at range very effectively. I can rack up kill after kill while staying at the limits of their ability to respond. So if I'm up against a Centurion, I can stay out of his autocannon range, let him shoot at me with his LRM-10, and it's "honorable" because he can shoot back (never mind that I have AMS). I can whittle him down over the course of a couple of minutes and make an easy kill. It goes in my codex as a victory and it's one more win in a long tally. Or I can go with the Primary configuration, rush in close, and kill him in like 30 seconds. It's riskier, but there's a higher reward. The faster I kill this guy, the faster I can take on another mech in his unit. Killing one mech over 30 turns of combat (and coming away with 90% of your armor intact) is a lot less impressive than killing a mech in 3 turns, killing the next one 5 turns later, cooling off for two turns, then killing a light mech in one volley, and then chewing up a heavy mech before you have to retreat because your arms got blown off.
Every battle would be a chance for glory. In modern day terms, it's a chance to impress the ladies. Most Clan warriors are in their early 20s and are young, dumb, and full of... guns. Now, you've still got to follow orders, and a mechwarrior who is just a rabid dog whose aggression screws up his superior officer's chances at passing on genetic material won't last long. You could be an amazingly skilled pilot, but if you are too stupid to realize that your Dasher is not equipped to fight that Battlemaster, well they can just pop another one of you out of the gene vats. You've got to be able to work with a team and follow a plan.
Headhunter stars, strategic retreats, hanging back and picking people off at range, calling in reinforcements... these are all things you do after cooler heads have realized that this particular battle can't be won by rushing in and humping the enemy into submission. They won't be happy about it, but everybody understands that you can't "Hulk Smash" every opponent in every fight. If you play it off right, however, and learn to brag about your cunning plan (and how foolish you made your opponent look), maybe you can make yourself look like a brilliant strategist. Being so stupid that you fall for every trick in the book is not a good survival trait, and doesn't get your genetic legacy passed on.