For 16+ years, we master the rules of school. Study hard, get good grades, follow the formula and ultimately merit wins. Then we enter the workforce and none of it works quite like we thought. This becomes painfully obvious as you rise higher in the org. Even seasoned veterans forget this. Recently, a director-level client hit a minor career bump and spiraled into crisis mode, their expectations still anchored in what I call "school rules".Organizations don't run purely on merit or even clear cr...