You must try to understand the stated as well as the hidden or unspoken rules of the company.
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Now that we are well aware that office politics is not optional, following are some tips that may help in improving the skills: Therefore, effective leaders are the ones that acknowledge the reality of politics within an organization and develop their skills accordingly. Focusing solely on work means you are risking the visibility of your contribution to the growth of the business. Often the young employees fail to understand this but office politics is just as important as talent and hard work, if not more. How else do you expect to handle being publicly put down? How will you figure out what to discuss and with whom to discuss? How will you know the right times to make yourself noticeable? Thinking about the answers to these as well as plenty of other questions will help you appreciate the ability to understand and master the skills of office politics. There is no choice but to admit that office politics is a skill without which success will only remain a dream. Whether you admire it or not, practice it or not, there is no way you can deny the reality of office politics found in almost every organization. From this perspective, stakeholder management and networking may be considered the subsets of office politics. However, office politics can also be a decent skill to have if you can use it fairly to promote yourself as well as support your cause. In most cases, the use of office politics as a skill is frowned upon because it involves seeking advantage through unfair means, at the expense of other people or by compromising the greater good, which has an adverse impact on work relationships as well as the overall work environment. “Calmly ask them why they acted how they did, rather than accusing them.” This is often the best way to change behaviour, as it requires them to reflect on their actions.Office politics as a skill refers to the ability to use one’s power beyond his legitimate right to do so in order to gain personal advantage or to benefit a cause that he supports. However, this can backfire: you may come across as petty, and is unlikely to change your boss or co-worker’s behaviour.Ī better way to deal with difficult colleagues is to ask them for a private conversation, says Williams.
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When colleagues try to make you look bad or undermine you, it’s tempting to do likewise. This protects your reputation: if your work ethic is called into question by colleagues, you then have a way to prove your productivity. You need to be cleverer than that: “Make sure you document your work thoroughly and let co-workers and your bosses’ superiors know what you are doing and have done,” advises Williams. “It’s tempting to expose the co-worker or boss in front of others, but this can backfire,” says executive coach Ray Williams. When you are subject to colleagues’ political tactics – such as taking credit for your work – it’s important not to retaliate. This strategy also works with game-playing colleagues – people with bullying tendencies often try to isolate victims, so the more people you have on your side, the less likely you are to be taken advantage of at work. Through joining together and discussing the bully’s behaviour, co-workers can contain the bully, who, with their behaviour exposed, loses the power to terrorise – and faces the threat of isolation.” “Grouping against a bully will provide victims with support for their feelings, since victims of bullies are at risk of becoming isolated. If one person at work is the main source of conflict, the best way to deal with them is to unite with your co-workers, says psychologist Dr Mary Lamia.