Friday 11 August 2017

Playing Politics

Whether we like it or not (and many of us don't), “politics” is part of life.  It shouldn’t be, but it is.  It doesn't help that politicians themselves have often been the cause of giving it a bad name, along with colleagues many of us could mention who were (are) renowned for playing an effective political game to secure their advancement up the corporate ladder.

During a recent conversation, the subject of political awareness came up.  The conclusion was that a degree of “political awareness” is necessary in life, and we are all capable of it.  Some describe political awareness as a “sense of how things are done in a company or culture”.  One of my conversation partners used phrases such as “being aware of undercurrents and red lines”.  These vary from country to country, culture to culture, business to business and person to person.

 In their book The Leader’s Guide to Influence, Michel Brent & Fiona Dent distinguish between two types of behaviour: “being political” versus “being politically astute”.  They go on to suggest that political skill is “how managers behave when pursuing their organisational goals” and define four types of people as those who are: 
  • Politically Virtuous: avoid getting involved in politics;
  • Politically Naïve: unaware of organisational politics and much of it passes them by;
  • Political Operators: highly involved and manipulate the “system” to get what they want;
  • Politically Astute: understand that politics are an inevitable aspect of organisational life and appreciate that they have to operate within the political arena whilst maintaining their integrity, credibility and reputation.
 Most of us tend to see the “Political Operators” (“manipulators”) at work.  The thing is, if they’re that obvious to us, they will be to those whom they're trying to impress.  As long as they produce results, they’re tolerated.  The natural effect though, is that those around them then tend to err on the side of “Politically Virtuous” (unless they’re “Politically Naïve”), potentially doing themselves down in the process (which is, of course, what the “Political Operators” want).

The way forward is to move oneself from “Politically Naïve/Virtuous” to “Politically Astute”, which for some may go against their values of “authenticity” or “honesty”.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  What they forget is that being politically astute doesn’t mean compromising oneself, but rather being authentic and not being perceived as manipulative by co-workers.

This results in increased influence at all levels based on co-workers’ perceptions, rather than in mistrust and questioning of motives.



I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world  running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

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posted by William Martin @ 08:31

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