Dealing With Organizational Politics

Here's a post from a person who wishes to remain anonymous. It is part of a homework assignment in our Leadership Skills program where she was examining an area for improvement in her leadership skills. It is reprinted with permission.

"The trait that causes me the most difficulty in performing my job is the ability to cope well with organizational politics. I have never been good at this one. I believe that organizational politics can often be traced back to ego issues.

"In the company I work for, there are many strong willed, intelligent males. Prior to my promotion, most of the female supervisors seemed very mousy. I have rarely seen them fight for their ideas or campaign for other females' ideas. I don't believe it's intentional; it's just a pattern of behavior that has been quietly instilled in them.

"I, however, am the aggressive advocate for good ideas, no matter who came up with them. I have a very strong personality and don't back down when I believe in my position on an issue. As you can imagine, this has created hardships for me and has made me wildly unpopular with some members of management. Mainly because I believe that respect should be commanded and not demanded. On the flip side of that, many of the associates appreciate my candor and have told management that it's actually why they like me. I am listing this as an area for improvement because I am painfully aware that a leadership skill is not only about managing down, but also about managing up.

"Over the past several months I have had ample time to decide and implement changes in my behavior with regard to organizational politics. I am working on being a more effective listener. Rather than jumping to conclusions, I let management finish their thoughts before I discuss mine. I also give myself a 3 second reaction time. If I feel that I may over-react, I wait 3 seconds before responding. This allows me to filter my responses allowing the member of management to feel heard and respected.

"I have also begun to create relationships outside the day to day business. I ask them about their day and their families and offer compliments if they are appropriate. This allows me to have another facet to the relationship.

"The final thing that I have tried (and am working on daily) is to try to remember that the members of management were also once non-management people. At one time, they did my job or one similar to it. They did earn their stripes and deserve to be respected."

Thanks very much for the insights Anonymous. Good points for us to consider. Especially the last one.

About me: Dan Pelley is an educator specializing in management training and development programs for supervisors and other first-line managers in Connecticut (CT), Massachusetts (MA) and Rhode Island (RI). The issue recited above came from a participant in one of his supervisory management development programs.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

Issues: Organization Politics

Issues included in this blog come from managers seeking Dan's advice. It's our policy to limit editing of issues, except to clarify or eliminate redundancy. Dan's response will always follow the issue, and we encourage your comments as well.

The issue: "I don't like organizational politics. I've always believed that the most appropriate candidate should get the position, and the best idea should always be implemented. Yet company politics often favor the 'chosen ones' and their ideas. This shows favoritism, supports hidden agendas, and undermines company integrity. I strongly disagree with this and find ways to meet with those above my position to ask them to assist me in understanding their reasons for whatever the political decision was. I feel that by taking the time out of my day to 'vent' or ask for clarification allows me to better deal with the issues. But I'm beginning to sense that perhaps I should exercise a bit more restraint with my comments about things I cannot change."

Dan's Response: Many people do not like politics, but politics are a reality in virtually every organization. Failing to understand these realities and the powerful processes that underlie them would be a tragic mistake. Choosing to discuss situations when you don't understand or disagree can be a good thing as long as you confine it to your boss and senior managers. But choose your battles wisely. Senior managers usually do not appreciate having to defend every decision with an inquisitive subordinate.

You also need to be very sure that your unhappiness with politics does not show through to (or worse, rub off on) your subordinates or your peer group. Overt outward dissension with the decisions of your boss or other higher level managers can be harmful to your career.

If you have a trusted peer who understands and appreciates the reality of organizational politics, and that peer will maintain your confidence and agree to mentor you, you might use that peer to help you in dealing with these types of issues.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.