Politics in the Workplace

      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.