Learn how the system actually works: the grading rubric, the promotion path, the unwritten rules. Most people just guess.

Every institution has a stated version and a working version, and the working version is where results come from. The rubric says what is actually scored, the promotion path says what actually gets rewarded, and the unwritten rules say what people quietly expect. Most people never look any of it up, so they work hard against a picture they invented.

Pick the one system you are currently inside and find its real rules. Read the marking criteria, ask what the last person who got promoted did, find out how decisions actually get made. An hour of that is often worth more than a month of guessing harder.