You don't need to be a corporate politician. But you do need power literacy.

When you work in any organization, it's easy to carry unspoken ideals—that everything is a democracy, that everyone gets an equal say. But the reality is that humans are hierarchical creatures. It's deep in our wiring. We're constantly assessing where we sit in the pecking order, orienting ourselves accordingly. Philosophies aside, this is how we navigate social systems.

And it's not necessarily a bad thing. We need leaders at various levels to take responsibility, make calls, and be accountable—so others can follow without friction, indecision, or infinite deliberation. Leadership doesn't have to mean individuals, either. It can be councils or bodies that follow protocols and ultimately make decisions. But someone has to decide.

Your task is to understand where the centers of power live.

Not so you can scheme. So you can move into your lane. So you can influence where it matters. So you can leverage yourself where it counts.

Here's the trap: many people work very hard but are unlevered in their influence. They're doing great work—but not showing it to the people who can recognize, reward, or elevate them. They're invisible to the decision-makers who could put their talents to better use.

This doesn't mean you need manipulation games or weird tactics. It means knowing how the landscape moves. Who's rising into which positions of power. Where influence flows—is the org sales-led, product-led, design-led? Understanding how the organization works is how you thrive in it.

Think of it like a doctor knowing anatomy. You don't study the body to become a disease—you study it to understand where the problems are and how to help.

The trick is decoupling. Just because you understand corporate politics doesn't make you a corporate politician. In fact, knowing how power dynamics operate is key to survival and success within any organization.

Literacy isn't manipulation. It's clarity.