A Four-step Plan To Take The “Ick” Out of Organizational Politics
Twice in the last three days, clients have brought up the aggravation of having to manage organizational politics to get things done. Like it or not, working with and through others is a fact of our matrixed world. “Politics” has come to have such a negative connotation, and I find that people shy away from getting involved. Ignore the political environment at your own peril. A better path: use the four simple steps below to navigate.
Case study: consider Bill, a highly accomplished leader, moved to a new role in his large corporation. He came from a role where he knew all the players, understood who had the power, and how to approach his peers to move things forward. “Ugh!!!”, he said, “It’s like starting all over! I have zero credibility, and no one wants to help me! It’s just so political over here!”
First, a reframe:
“Is it true”, I asked him, “that no one wants to help you? No one? Really?” What Bill was experiencing was new: he came from a group where he knew everyone. With a quick phone call or drop in on Slack, he could make things happen. He knew his key stakeholders, and what was important to each. He didn’t yet have that knowledge in his new group. What he needed to do is spend time working with his new colleagues, and understanding – as he did in his former role – what’s important to them. And that meant he had to take the first step. When this happens, it’s not that people are ignoring you, or are not capable of helping – they’re busy! Asking Bill to consider getting his work done by building relationships rather than engaging in politics changed his perspective.
Next: align to your values:
Leadership starts on the inside. Knowing what’s important to you, and where you will or will not compromise, matters. Bill is a results-driven guy. He believes in metrics, in data, and in straight talk. Transparency is important to him. What he saw as a lack of cooperation from his new peers seemed contrary to his values. Except…he’d not taken the time to be explicit with his peers about how he liked to operate, and what was important to him. He scheduled a series of 1x1 meetings and, in these meetings, talked about what’s important to him, and how it shows up at work. More importantly, he asked his peers what was important to them. Understanding what they value allowed Bill to align his priorities to things that mattered to his key constituents.
Now: take action:
Once Bill was clear on his values, and those of his key stakeholders: peers, customers, and of course with his boss and his team, he learned to operate effectively in his new role. Finding out, for instance, that his finance partner valued fitness, and took time each day for a run gave him an opportunity to combine his passion for numbers with his own fitness goals: their 1x1’s are now on the track! Bill found out that one of his key constituents prefers face to face communication vs phone or video – so, as time consuming as it felt to Bill, he changed his tactics. Bill established a regular cadence to connect with the people most important to him. He aligned his work and objectives with theirs as much as possible, recognizing that his success and theirs were tightly integrated.
Finally, reassess:
Like any good continuous improvement initiative, Bill makes time each month to evaluate his progress on key relationships, and makes tweaks as needed. He learned to work more effectively with people across the organization. He was able to collaborate to come up with creative ideas to drive the business forward. Equally important, he taught his team how to be more effective communicators and relationship builders. He role modeled that organizational politics is really all about the people. Working with and through others isn’t political, it’s how business happens.
Try this tactic:
My first question to Bill - “is it true?” is a favorite tool of mine. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our own stories and perceptions that we miss what’s really happening in front of us. This question is the first in the simple and powerful framework from author Byron Katie – and you can read more about her work here. Self-awareness, and the ability to question our own motivation and intent is a core skill for continued development. If you want to learn more about the importance of self-awareness in leadership, check out our Nova blog post on the topic.