Over the years I have learned the
criticality of “getting along” with others. Coming up through the ranks, I
found myself often butting heads with my peers and even though I was often
times “right”, I was at the same time very ineffective as a team member and
many people did not enjoy working with me. The purpose of my writing today is
to focus on why politics are not the bad thing that many people believe.
Participating in politics will allow one to go further in their career and have
a more enjoyable time at work. Let’s get right to the first point.
While working as a manager responsible for
departments totaling greater than 50 persons, I found myself often butting
heads with my peers and at times even with my superiors. I would use my
technical ability to master management of my area of responsibility and use my
spare time to find fault with the efforts of my coworkers. Soon many of them
began to distrust me and others simply avoided me all together. As good as I
was at what I did, it soon became impossible for me to get certain things done
within the organization. This behavior ultimately not only slowed down my career
but brought it to a stop when the telecom crash hit in 2002. When my team shrank
due to repeated “right sizing” or layoffs, I knew there was not much need for a
leader of my caliber to remain unless I could contribute in another capacity.
Initially it was suggested that I might work in engineering, but I had already
burned my bridges there and that team had no use for me. After a period of time
I was laid off and unceremoniously sent on my way after nearly ten years with
the company. Now that we know the bad let’s talk about the good!
When a team works well together it makes a
difference in not only what can be accomplished but the amount of effort
required to get things done is also reduced drastically. What once took many
meetings, arguments, or endless emails back and forth now I can achieve by
simply asking. Also, more than once I was saved from embarrassing situations
because a colleague decided to come have a discussion with me about an issue
instead of going to my boss. Working together with others makes both parties
look more successful to the senior leaders or executives. When things can get
done without their active participation it makes all of the persons involved
appear more competent. Additionally, when more can be accomplished in a short
time there is often a cost savings realized. While one can never say for certain
that they will receive some or all of that savings back personally in the form
of wages, benefits, or bonuses, one can be certain if money is wasted or
opportunity is squandered because of petty bickering or turf wars, the
individuals involved nor the company will be able to do anything with those
wasted resources. Lastly, let’s talk a bit about how to do politics right!
This is my personal take on the topic, and
over the years I have adopted ideas from many extremely intelligent people. I
have learned from books, lectures, the Bible, podcasts, college classes, and I
truly believe I could never learn too much about how to get along with others.
First, always approach others in a loving way. I can hear it now, “No way, I
hate that guy!” Well, here is the trouble with that attitude. If two people are
on the same team (working for the same company = same team), then the success
of the team is what is truly important. I can’t “win” while someone else on the
team is “losing”. If I do win at another’s expense, the team doesn’t really
win. Therefore, when I have a problem with a coworker or they are doing
something that is causing me problems, I must approach them in a loving way,
(not in a hateful way) in order to truly help them to be more successful. Being
mean or hateful will only cause the coworker to be defensive so nothing will be
resolved. Second, look for ways to better serve your coworkers. I can here you
thinking “Hey where is the part where I get something?” We’ll get to that, keep
your pants on! If you are constantly doing things that have a positive impact
on your coworkers, their teams and the company, one day when you need some help
with a project or task, you will have the full attention of the people
you have been helping. It has been my experience that they will be not only
willing to help you, but will be exited that they finally have an opportunity
to do something for you.
Now that I know how to do politics right, I
see that being political is not a bad thing. It is a smart thing. It is how to
get things done, make a better workplace and quite frankly a better world.