When to work the system and when to leave it

Over the last five weeks, I've been writing about how organisations really work. The invisible structures behind the organisation chart. The decision-making that happens before meetings start. Why good ideas lose to better-timed ones. The politics you can't opt out of, and last week, why influence matters more than authority.All of that assumes something important: that the organisation you're in is worth navigating.Sometimes it isn't, and knowing the difference is the skill can remain a mystery.The Loyalty TrapMost of us were raised with a version of this story: if you're good enough, patient enough, and committed enough, the organisation will eventually reward you. Stay the course. Prove your value. The system works.For some people, in some organisations, that story holds true and he system does work. There are places where talent gets recognised, where good faith is met with good faith, and where navigating well genuinely leads somewhere.The problem is that many people stay in…