dealing with office politics, office envionment

1. DEALING WITH OFFICE
POLITICS

2. Topics
 Politics are real and unavoidable
 How political are you
 About political types
 How to size up the political climate
 Winning strategies
 Rising above it all
 7 Habits of Politically Savvy People

3. POLITICS ARE REAL
AND UNAVOIDABLE
 Not all politics are bad
Realize that this is reality
Expect politics in all situations
Politics are part of human interaction

4. What is Office Politics?
 Communicating indirectly
 Using covert tactics to advance
 Controlling other people through
psychological manipulation
 Being cautions about telling the truth
 Hiding vulnerability
 Currying favor
ORGANIZATIONAL
POLITICS
“Involves intentional acts of
Influence to enhance or protect
The self interest of individuals
Or groups”

5. What Creates Office Politics
 Scarcity of resources
 A too competitive work environment
 Subjective performance standards
 Unclear job definitions
 Emotional insecurity

6. How Political Are You
 Answer the question with
your first impression
 Think most of the time
when answering
You can also use these questions
to help identify people in your
office.

7. About Political Types
 Corporate Shark
 Climber
 Survivor
 Straight Arrow
 Lamb for Slaughter

8. Corporate Shark
 Score of 90 plus
 Tends to use others to enhance career
 Power-hungry, ruthless, and devious

9. Example: Looking Good
 PetePete is a supervisor who is ambitious to a fault.
Everything he does is for effect. One of his
ground rules is that only positive information
makes its way from him to his boss. Negative
news is totally ignored. He makes it clear that
anyone in his group who says bad things about
him or the organization risks getting fired. If an
employee openly disagrees, he or she is labeled a
non-supporter. Everyone who reports to Pete
agrees the best practice is to fall into line and be
a “yes person

10. Climber
 Score of 75 to 89
 Shrewd politician
 A moderate score (75-85) suggests you might
have a good chance of success
 Politics are everything - let’s campaign

11. Example: Power by Association
 MikeMike is a young marketing manager. He sees
work as a game and compulsively seeks to be a
winner. He gets turned on by challenging,
competitive activities where he can prove
himself. He hates being pushed around. His
goal is to become more powerful because
power means freedom. To expand his influence
and to increase his chances of advancement, he
is developing very strong relationships with
major customers who can make demands on
his company

12. Survivor
 Score of 50-75
 Practices some office politics and is aware of
the political climate
 Ok, what do I have to do to survive

13. Example: The Copywriters’ Clique
WhenWhen Kate became a copywriter for a newspaper in a
large city, she was invited to join her group for
lunch her first day on the job. She discovered the
group met informally once a week to gossip, to
exchange inside tips, and to get to know one
another better. Kate quickly learned the value of
trading information at these events. The message
was clear: lunch was political. A final note: It’s
important to remember that to be human is to be
political. Whenever people’s priorities, values, and
interests diverge, some type of politicking usually
takes place.

14. Straight Arrow
 Score of 35-49
 Not perceived as office politician
 May neglect cultivating key people for career
advancement
 Honesty is the best policy

15. Lamb for Slaughter
 Score of less than 35
 Doesn’t believe in office politics
 Commonly boasts of never practicing office
politics
 Easily eaten by sharks

16. Sizing up the Climate
 Who’s related to who
 About my boss Irritations
 Enemies
 Personal facts
 Politics practiced
 Identify the true power and players
 Look below - motivations
 What are favored behaviors and
status symbols

17. What’s Your Corporate Climate
 Answer the question with your first impression
 Think most of the time when answering

18. Winning Strategies
 Help your boss succeed
 Be loyal, avoid disloyalty
 Praise your boss to upper
management
 Imitate your boss’ slogans
 Present options
 Be visible
 Teach your boss a skill
 Be different - not part of whining
masses

19. Rising Above it All
 Shine at meetings
 Compliment influential people
 Talk big, outside the box
 Appear cool under pressure
 Display good corporate manners
 Learn new skills and sell them
 Be a team player

20. 7 Habits of Politically Savvy
People
1.Politics are part of human interaction - you can
set the tone by:
 Not participating in gossip
 Telling the truth
 Checking out praises and criticism

21. 7 Habits of Politically Savvy
People
2.Help design/define clear job roles and
compatible teams.
3. Expose dirty tricks used by the sharks.
4. Don’t allow anyone to “get” something on you
that can be used later.

22. 7 Habits of Politically Savvy
People
5. Make emotional deposits with the people you
work with.
6. Be known as a producer and not a politician.
7. Lift others up with you and forgive failures.

23. Review
 Politics are unavoidable
 How political are you
 What’s your corporate climate
 How to rise above it all
 7 Habits of Politically Savvy People