Though office politics can be used both ethically and unethically, at their core they are just the range of informal, unofficial, and sometimes behind-the-scenes efforts that happen in all organizations as people position themselves, their interests, their teams, and their priorities to get things done.įor example, let’s say you have a big meeting coming up where stakeholders at your company are going to decide which projects to invest in - including yours. This myth is premised on an incomplete and one-sided understanding of what office politics really are. How could any of us possibly engage in things that are widely seen as toxic and dangerous, or at the very least unethical and unpleasant, if we are not ourselves toxic, dangerous, unethical, and unpleasant? The fact that these are the words we associate with office politics explains why this first myth is so prevalent. Last week, an employee used the word “heart-breaking.” “Toxic,” “frustrating,” “dangerous,” “demotivating,” “draining,” “unfair,” “unnecessary,” “cliques,” and “gossip” almost always rise to the surface. One hundred percent of the time, 99% of the words given are negative. In every lecture or workshop I run, I start by asking people to use three words to describe office politics. You can either be a good person, or you can play politics. If you’re starting out in your career and think it’s best to sit politics out, you should learn the truth soother than later. Having now lectured about organizational politics to thousands of employees around the world, I have uncovered five myths that are as widespread and harmful as they are naïve and as universal as they are wrong. They are about two things: influence and relationships, and the power these two things give you - or don’t. Understanding the mythsĭespite all the negative connotations, office politics are not inherently evil. That’s why, in my work now, as a global consultant, I’ve made it a priority to educate professionals at every stage in their careers on organizational politics and how to navigate them at work. It’s not subject covered in most colleges or business schools, despite the fact that it’s essential to surviving (and thriving) in every work environment. Though I reached a great deal of success, there were also many opportunities I had missed and many times that I had faltered as a result of my lack of education around office politics. The more I learned, the more I began to reflect on my career. I read every article, book, and study I could lay my hands on and sought professional guidance from a fellow executive-turned-coach. It was high time I became a little more politically intelligent at work. The experience made me realize that my head-in-the-sand approach needed updating. This is an example of “office politics” at their worst. I was let go under the guise of “budget cuts,” but in reality, I had been gracefully and expensively fired without question or reproach because someone with authority wanted me gone. It was because I had neglected to form relationships with people who had the power to advocate for my job. It wasn’t because I was performing poorly or failing to meet my goals. Given my approach, it’s unsurprising that I was entirely unprepared and out of my depth when, several years into my career, I was laid off. I don’t come to work to play games - I come to work to get things done.” Politics are dreadful, dangerous, and unnecessary, and I’m simply too straightforward for all of the subterfuge they require. To anyone who would listen (and perhaps even a few who wouldn’t), I said: “I really don’t have the stomach for all of that stuff. Throughout these years, I wore my refusal to engage in office politics as a badge of honor. See more from Ascend here.įor more than two decades, I worked as an executive across the corporate, nonprofit, and public sectors. However, investing time in your networks and building the connections that can speak for you and your work will.
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