Companies that give personality tests in the hiring process are largely looking at your “agreeableness” score. We’re constantly taught that the default answer should be “Yes.” If you’re creative, you might push it to “Yes, and…” But a plain “no” from anyone who isn’t explicitly labeled as a “leader” is a non-starter in systems obsessed with hierarchy.

There are really only three options. Try to climb an existing hierarchy. Make your own hierarchy and place yourself atop it. Or operate within and between hierarchies without unnecessarily validating their existence. That last one’s increasingly difficult by design.