Office politics: A Refreshing View

 

"You have to learn how to play the game."

When it comes to office politics, this is the common "advice" people give. But I found it very vague, impractical, and always made me feel uncomfortable. What does that even mean to "play the game"?

In the book “Be the Boss Everyone Wants to Work For - A Guide for New Leaders”, author William Gentry offers a refreshing and enlightening perspective, some of the best guidelines and advice to approaching office politics in a mature, professional way: Being political savvy. 

Thankfully, it’s not a game of thrones matter of either-you-win-or-you-die. 

Quite the contrary. In a nutshell, political savvy is about being sincere and authentic in all that you say and do, and leave people with a good impression.

This, I like. 

Quoting from the book:

“For many, politics is a necessary evil or a game to play. Favoritism, bullying, power struggles, and self-interest abound. These individuals see people making others feel small, stealing credit, or passing off the work of others as their own to get attention, glory, power, or resources. And bending or blatantly breaking rules and manipulating the system or people to get what they personally want.

Those who flip their perspective see politics differently.  They understand that politics aren't negative or positive. It's simply their air we breathe in organizations. This is not to say that they are naïve. They understand there are competing interests, scarce resources, ambiguity, unclear rules and regulations, and a lack of information.

The difference? They don’t let those perceptions get in the way of their goal to bring transparency and clarity to their teams, their coworkers, or stakeholders they work with. 

Goals of being Political Savvy: remove uncertainty and bring transparency, clarity, and a shared meaning to those you work with, so everyone knows what to expect, through the following:

1. Understand yourself and the environment around you - Having social astuteness: to objectively scan, observe, and gather information about yourself and the people and environment around you, so you thoroughly understand the thoughts, behaviors, and needs of coworkers and stakeholders you interact with. It’s also about impulse control (managing your temper) and remaining calm in the storm that is around you. It’s thinking before you speak and act.

2. Use that knowledge to be flexible and versatile enough to obtain goals that benefit you and others - Find common ground and do what needs to be done, so everyone wins something and feels good about the final result. 

3. Act in a sincere and authentic way - Leave people with a good impression: as a relationship builder who is seen as “flexible” and “adaptable”. If you do it in an inauthentic way, you’ll probably be labelled as “cunning”, “sly” or “obsessed with power”. 

If you have political savvy, you appear not to have it. Everything you do—your behaviors, your actions, the words you say—are all genuine, transparent, and authentic

That doesn’t sound bad, does it? Being politically savvy does not mean someone else must lose for you to win. It’s not about selfishness, having a façade, being a chameleon, or inauthenticity. Instead, it involves the sincere use of your skills, behaviors, and qualities to remove uncertainty and obtain goals that benefit you and others at the same time.

Over the years, we continuously find that managers with political savvy are seen as better leaders, more promotable, and less likely to derail in their careers according to their boss, peers, and direct reports. So don’t think of political savvy as being a brownnoser, a backstabber, a backroom dealer, a schmoozer, a shark, or a snake. It’s not embarrassing, patronizing, or inauthentic." (End Quote)

I like this point of view - it's straightforward, practical, and most importantly: Sincere. What do you think?