Navigating the Political River

When you start working for a bigger organisation (like more than one employee or owner) then the ability to make a decision or create action can be stifled.  This is the time that your ability to negotiate the currents and torrents of politics.

Here are a few points that will help you in your quest - 

1. Be quiet, watch and learn.  The idea here is to listen more than you speak.  Watch what is really going on in your workplace. 
2. Know the players.  The key here is to know who is in control of what and how much influence each person has.  This is where positional power vs real power comes to the fore.  Even though one person may have the job title sometimes there may be another person who can influence that person.  Know which is which.
3. Create alliances.  I recommend creatiing multiple small wins for key players as and when you can.  I do not condone kissing up because it mjight get you somewhere.  What I am for is being yourself and creating genuine wins for others.  You reap what you sow.

Political savvy is an important skill in every aspiring managers arsenal. 

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandraskovic/2431807594//)

Political Player or Political Animal?

One strategic understanding (emotional intelligence) you will need to forge the ability to figure out -

• Who are the players?
• Who are the political animals?

Sometimes it is hard to tell the two apart. 

Me - I'm a player and use different situations and people to achieve where I want to get to and what I want to do.  Most times people can't tell what I'm up to.  I keep my motives to myself and I am not in a hurry to get the top.  I use my personality to win friends and influence people and I assure that both parties win.  That's what makes a player.

Now someone who is unashamedly working the system to get up the ladder as quick as possible - now that's an animal.  Someone who is willing to use others as much as they can to achieve their own good, someone who targets managers, directors and ignores the little people in a business in an effort to climb - that's an animal.

Me - I don't care much for animals.  Political ones anyway. 

Beware of animals - they bite!

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gotmikhail/4201474510/)

Characters in the Office

In case you hadn't noticed I enjoy reading Dilbert cartoons.  They're great.  They are great from the perspective that they capture what people in offices really think and the games that they play with each other.

Take todays cartoon as an example -




Sure - on it's surface it is funny.  But I'm guessing that you could probably say from the story above who the people are that you work with that would try the same thing or might fit those character types.

I can.