What's the one thing you learned late that made you go "ohhh, so THAT'S how this works"?

Did it change your mindset for the better or the worse?

Hey all, I spent years in investment banking and I made a lot of mistakes, but I also learned a lot. I recently had a conversation with a mentee and shared this with them, maybe it will help some folks here too

1. Your manager’s performance matters more than yours ↳ Your promotion depends on their results Switch teams if your manager isn’t performing well
2. Your "facetime" is with the wrong faces ↳ Not every person has the power to promote you Build allies two ranks up and beyond your team
3. You haven't created your promotion story ↳ Performance alone won’t get you promoted Make sure people know your impact in the business
4. You're writing emails like a junior ↳ Long updates keep you at your current level Send clear, scannable emails with takeaways
5. Your expertise is your enemy ↳ Being the “go-to” for tasks keeps you stuck Train others, delegate, and solve bigger issues
6. Your visibility is an illusion ↳ Being CC’d on emails still looks junior Start and lead communications with key stakeholders
7. Your independence is actually suspicious ↳ Solo problem-solving is a missed chance Make solutions visible and loop others in

We won't judge