To get ahead as a leader, you need to know how to navigate the political landscape of the office.
Office politics is the strategies that people play to gain advantage personally or for a cause they support.
The negative association with office politics comes when it is perceived as strategies to get ahead and gain advantage at the expense of others or the greater good.
When anyone uses the words ‘office politics,’ a barrage of negativity unfolds — stories of backstabbing colleagues, positioning yourself to get ahead, game-playing, and so on.
How did office politics get such a bad reputation? It is something that everyone complains about, yet it is part and parcel of the office culture. To get ahead as a leader, you need to know how to navigate the political landscape of the office.
“Politics has a strong, negative connotation for most people,” agrees Centre of Creative Leadership’s (CCL) Bill Gentry, co-author of a research study on workplace politics and career derailment.
“But at its core, politics is neutral. There is good political skill — which most people appreciate — and there is bad political skill, which most people resist and deride.”
Office politics is the strategies that people play to gain advantage personally or for a cause they support. The negative association with office politics comes when it is perceived as strategies to get ahead and gain advantage at the expense of others or the greater good.
Politics is a normal part of leadership and organisational life, and political skill is one of the many factors that contribute to effective leadership, according to Gentry.
Political skill is the ability to effectively understand and influence others for personal and/or organisational benefit. Leaders need to know the relationships and cultural dynamics of the organisation as well as understand how to respond to and affect their environment.
Similar to politics in governments, leaders who are unable to develop their political skill are at risk of derailing their career. In other words, managers who are not politically astute run the risk of being demoted, fired or otherwise thrown off their intended career track.
CCL’s research shows that the more politically-skilled a manager is, the less likely one is to have problems with interpersonal relationships and with building and leading a team — and therefore one less likely to derail one’s career.
“There is no such thing as a workplace without politics,” Gentry says. “For leaders to be effective, they need to acknowledge the political reality in their organisation and develop their own political skill.”
Once we are honest with ourselves and accept that navigating office politics is part of being a leader, it is easier to view this in a more positive light, and basically get on with it. How can we reframe the term ‘office politics’ so that it isn’t seen as such a negative thing? ‘Good office politics’ can help you promote yourself and your cause fairly.
How can you make office politics work for you and develop strategies to deal with all kinds of negative behaviour that is going on around you? One of the best ways to do this is to be a good observer and then use information you collect to build a strong network.
Office politics is often seen as a taboo subject. However, it shouldn’t be the devil no one talks about, as it is part of business. Here is how to make office politics work for you:
Know what you are trying to achieve. When there is gossip and conflict, it is easy to get sucked into the moment and get involved or become biased. A way to avoid getting sucked in is to remind yourself and others of the bigger picture and common goals.
Identify who is valuable to know. Understand who the key people are, especially where a strong relations with them will be beneficial in getting the job done or make your life easier. Getting to know the IT support team is always handy!
Nurture key relations. Ensure that you make an effort with key relationships. Stephen Covey in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People refers to this as making a deposit into the emotional bank account and not just going to people when you need something.
Focus on what you can control and influence. It can be easy sometimes to feel like you have very little control of what is going on around you.
Instead of getting angry and frustrated about the situation, focus on what you can control and influence — it helps overcome the feeling of helplessness.
Don’t take sides. You could find yourself stuck in the middle of a power struggle, where team members can’t agree on the way forward, or disagree with a decision the other has made.
Remain neutral and, as mentioned in the first point, focus on the objectives and common goal.
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