In the corporate world, whether it's a traditional Indian company or a global multinational, one thing is almost always true: workplace politics are inevitable. The cultures may differ, but the people remain the same. Ambitions, insecurities, egos, and expectations silently shape the organizational ecosystem. When it comes to promotions or professional growth, many of us let emotions override logic. Rather than objectively evaluating whether we truly have the skills, experience, and attitude required for the next step, we fall into the trap of comparison. We focus on why someone else got the opportunity instead of asking ourselves a more difficult question: Am I truly ready for it? In doing so, we miss out on the one thing that truly empowers our growth, and ownership. Too few of us take the initiative to sit with our managers or HR to discuss our career path. Instead of leveraging their support and feedback, we often view them as obstacles. We assume they don’t see our potentia...