Your post describes the problem more succinctly than you might think. You are trying to do a good job which might lead to a promotion. You see the rules and op

Your post describes the problem more succinctly than you might think. You are trying to do a good job which might lead to a promotion. You see the rules and operations of the organisation as something to work within. The people who ignore you are trying to get promoted. They see the rules and operations of the organisation as a irritating backdrop to their personal goals. The job could be anything. Ascent is all that matters. They will get promoted. You will retire one day, your nerves fried. The incentives are all wrong, and playing the social metagame rather than playing the game by the rules always results in an advantage, and thus this behaviour is inherently embedded in any human structure. The solution isn’t “better management” - it’s in fundamental societal change, which ain’t coming any time soon.