Playing Politics in the Office? I asked…

The word politics is a turn off for me any day and so when Harvard Business Review had a document encouraging playing politics in the office, I went “wait a minute!” Now I like to learn and so try to stay open. And what I read was interesting.

Come with me…

Politics is a dirty word. Yes! But office politics are unavoidable; What?! as Aristotle noted, “man is by nature a political animal.” Whether you participate in them or not, politics have a big influence on what happens to you, your projects, and your team, so it’s hard to be indifferent to them.

According to the report, office politics can be understood as the unwritten rules that determine who gets what, when, and how — a promotion, a budget for a project, a say in the boss’s decisions — and who doesn’t. This is why we dislike politics so much: when our fate depends on unwritten rules — especially when they conflict with official, stated rules and make the system seem rigged or at least hypocritical — things are bound to seem arbitrary and unfair. Such perception causes employees to stay off and be disinterested and less productive and some even seek to quit.

Fortunately, not all politics are bad, and there’s a way to play the game without selling your soul. Great to know!

Corporate “culture” provides clues for understanding office politics. Culture is the tapestry of taken-for-granted assumptions, values, beliefs, norms, and habits that determine “the way we do things around here.” Some aspects of culture are desirable traits that organizations are proud to proclaim (“We are a high performance organization.” “We stand for diversity and inclusion.”). Others are not (“We are conflict avoidant.”). The term “politics” is used to describe certain aspects of this dark side of culture. Learning to decode, and speak, this secret language of organizations is pivotal to your career survival and to becoming a major player at work.

So what is the difference between good and bad politics?

While good politics entails advancing one’s interests but not to the neglect of other people’s rights or the organization’s legitimate interests, bad politics at its core is about advancing oneself at the expense of other people or the organization. So long as the action of the employee serves a higher purpose, like whistle blowing…wink*; it is good politics.

The following would enhance playing good politics in the workplace, as an accumulation of research has shown that they enhance job performance and its attendant benefits to both the individual and the organization:

• Social astuteness: the ability to read other people and the self-awareness to understand how they see you. Most people think of self-awareness as introspection, but its essence is actually other-awareness; that is, knowing how other people see you and how your behavior impacts them.
• Interpersonal influence:a convincing ability to affect how and what other people think. This involves, first, understanding them and their preferences and agendas, and then personalizing your message to appeal to their cause.
• Networking ability: the capacity to form mutually beneficial relationships with a wide range of diverse people. Cynics might say that there is only a one-letter difference between networking and not-working, but having a significant influence often requires a coalition of support. And as the old saying goes, “contacts mean contracts.”
• Apparent sincerity: seeming to be honest, open, and forthright. It is not enough to just be honest; sincerity is in the eye of the beholder. How honest you think you are is far less important than how honest other people think you are.

There is a way to use the unspoken rules to contribute to the greater good, advance your interests, and maintain your honor and dignity.

So the next time we hear the word politics in the workplace, we shall not cringe, but say YEAH! Let’s go there.

Culled from https://hbr.org/2017/09/playing-office-politics-without-selling-your-soul