Many people believe that politics has no place in the workplace. If that is how you feel, think about politics as relationships and your opinion might change. The term “relationships” has a much more positive connotation than “politics,” and at the end of the day, each is all about influence.
I grew up in a very loving and athletic-minded family. When it was time for bed, my brother and I might be able to negotiate a delayed bed time if we challenged our Dad to a wrestling match. We knew that the best time to challenge Pops was when Mom was not home. We also knew that he rewarded maximum effort. If we fought hard, he might let us last more than the requisite 2 minutes before getting pinned and thereby “earn” an extra half hour of awake (or together) time. Though I did not know it as a 10-year-old, I now recognize his not pinning us was premeditated, but he wanted to give us the sense of earning the privilege. In layman’s terms, he was ensuring that we tried our best, and we were appealing to his desire to spend more time with “His Boys” (though the feeling was mutual). We were both leveraging politics, or acknowledging the unwritten rules of the game.
I have been a staff officer for longer than I care to admit. In such a role, any success toward achieving any objective to which I am championing is due to the power of the network and the relationships I have cultivated over time. The longer one spends on any team, the more adept the capable become at getting things done. That is due in large part to our gaining a better understanding of the rules of getting things done and less because we have some unique perspective or area of expertise.
During my current tour, I have had the unique opportunity to work with someone who I sincerely hope continues to rise within the ranks. Though he continues to teach me a great deal, one of the many lessons I have learned is realizing the power of a “BATNA” (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement).
Politics in the workplace have everything to do with our ability to influence others, to grow our personal networks and to manage relationships with seniors, subordinates, and peers. With that I hope we all translate “politics” in the workplace to “relationships” in the workplace, and see it as a positive and not a negative.
Seeing as my brother works at Cisco Systems, I can’t help but plug their example of “the power of the human network.”
- Are you doing your part to realize the power of the network?
- How might we enjoy more influence without the need for authority?
- Do you see the positive of politics (relationships) in the workplace?
