That's the case in all organizations - academic, government, business, military, charity, etc.
You can get your foot in the door by being competent. If you want to rise within any organization, you either have to know someone or you have to be great at office politics.
People naively think the hardest or best workers move up the ladder. No, you want the hardest and best workers working. You want them in the trenches. You want people with contacts or people you like promoted.
Whether we like it or not, success in life has a lot more to do with relationships than competence or merit. Who you know, who your family knows and who your friends knows matters far more than what you know.
You can get your foot in the door by being competent. If you want to rise within any organization, you either have to know someone or you have to be great at office politics.
People naively think the hardest or best workers move up the ladder. No, you want the hardest and best workers working. You want them in the trenches. You want people with contacts or people you like promoted.
Whether we like it or not, success in life has a lot more to do with relationships than competence or merit. Who you know, who your family knows and who your friends knows matters far more than what you know.