Nia invited me to a small staff discussion about mentoring younger employees.

She had recently been promoted after an open competition, with her skills assessed by people who did not report to Connor or Bridgett.

I congratulated her privately; she seemed embarrassed by the attention.

“I almost quit,” she admitted.

“I thought the only way to survive here was to stay invisible.”

“What changed?” I asked.

“Someone finally wrote down the rules.

And someone checked whether they were being followed.”