Beating the Game of Office Politics
Posted on August 07, 2011 by Mark Strong, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Whatever your particular situation, office politics can confuse and frustrate even top-performing employees.
What’s the hardest thing about your job? If you’re like many of the people I talk to as a life coach, what’s toughest about work isn’t the work at all, but playing politics. Maybe it’s feeling like you have to walk on eggshells around a team member to avoid confrontation. Or maybe it’s trying to figure out how to navigate the murky waters of communication between your boss and your bosses’ boss without stepping on toes or leaving anyone out of the loop.
Whatever your particular situation, office politics can confuse and frustrate even top-performing employees. So what’s the solution to keeping political quagmires from dragging you down emotionally or derailing your career goals? Consider the following strategies:
Choose Your Battles. Nothing can embroil you faster in office politics than raising red flags and reporting on obstacles at every turn. By always being the whistle- blower, you put yourself toe-to-toe with whatever person or department is on the other end of the situation. Even if your observation is correct, will your problems really be solved by being the one to put someone else in the hot seat? No matter what your level, companies want people who can solve problems for them, not just point them out. This is why going into battle mode can often backfire.
Before you go on the offensive, take a step back and think about whether you are the right person to address this issue. Perhaps the situation is one that that your boss would be more appropriate to handle, or a colleague in different department. Perhaps a team approach would work better if you are aware that others agree with your perception of the problem. If you can find a way to put some distance between yourself and the issue, or to share responsibility by reporting on it with a group, then you’ve found a way to stay off of the front lines alone should the politics involved in resolution get ugly. And most importantly, you’ve saved your right to raise issues for the ones that matter most to you.
See Politics as Part of Your Job. One of the frustrations that I’ve seen many people encounter over my years of life coaching is that they feel like they shouldn’t have to deal with office politics. They feel like they have to waste a lot of time navigating political situations instead of getting to spend that time on their “real job”. But guess what? Handling politics carefully is part of your job. That’s one reason why managers get paid more as they move up the ranks -they are being paid to cut through the politics of their position, because the political stakes intensify the further up the ladder you climb.
So today when you go to work, as you confront various situations that seem to fall outside of the realm of your stated job description, remind yourself that this, too, is why you get paid the big bucks. There is little of greater importance or visibility than skillfully navigating your work relationships.
Seek Help When Needed. There are times when, despite your best judgment and intentions, a political situation at work becomes unmanageable. Only you can decide what “unmanageable” means to you. If you feel like you’ve gotten in over your head, it may be time to call for reinforcements. If a supervisor can’t help you, perhaps human resources can – or if you’ve exhausted all internal options, you may want to talk to a lawyer. These resources exist for employees because politics can be tough. But with the right strategies in place, you can beat them.
