Most people believe that if you’re smart, work hard, and meet your goals, a promotion is guaranteed. But the truth is a lot of talented people fail to get ahead while seemingly ordinary peers blow right past them. So, how do organizations decide who gets promoted over whom?  If it’s not entirely based on performance, does it mean you have to suck up to your higher-ups? Play office politics? Be everything everywhere all at once? These were the questions, host Akshaya Chandrasekaran, was exploring in the latest episode of The First Two Years, an early careers podcast from The Ken. If you’re starting out, probably in the 18-25 age group, this episode is a great place to start. Do you have a career question we can help you to solve? Share a note with the host at [email protected] or take this form and let us know. We might have you on the show! The First Two Years is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive business stories, deeply-reported newsletters, and a whole lot of stuff.