Office Politics (pt. 1)

At some point in your career, you will find yourself in a position where you have to deal with office politics.  Office politics aren't bad in and of themselves, but it is important to understand how they work and what your place is within them.

First, we should put some clarity around what I mean by the phrase "office politics".  They are really just the unwritten rules and informal structure of the organization. 

The key to navigating the political landscape is to understand the various roles and who holds them.  From situation to situation, there may be different people playing each role, but understanding who plays them in your current situation will make it easier for you to do what you need.

Decision Makers - someone who has final say on critical decisions.  For bigger decisions, this is usually a manager or executive.  But for smaller items, this could be a team member or a team with approval authority over a specific process.

Gatekeeper - someone who controls access to a key person or resource.  The gatekeeper for an executive might be their executive assistant from a time scheduling perspective, but it is often a trusted manager when it comes to processes and decisions.  You may need to make your case to the gatekeeper before the decision is brought to the leader.  In the case of a process, there may be someone responsible for managing the agenda for approvals that you must convince to prioritize your request for a decision.

Connector - someone who has connections across multiple departments.  The connector can be invaluable, especially when you are new to an organization, because they can provide introductions to decision makers and gatekeepers.

Influencer - someone who's opinion is revered by many in the organization, often including key decision makers.  The difference between a connector and an influencer is that an influencer may hold sway with others just based on reputation without actually having a personal relationship with the people involved.  Whereas a connector has the relationship but may not have the expertise needed to provide the influence.

Observer - someone who understands who are the current political players.  An observer knows who the players are but may not be able to introduce or influence them.

Champion - someone who advocates for others within the organization.  Having a leader that acts as your advocate can speed up the decision making process through the additional authority that they bring.

Beyond understanding the roles of the people who can help you, the next step is to look at what strategies you can take to be successful within the politics of your office.

Build a decision map.  For each situation, build a map of who plays each role and how you can engage them.  When you are unsure of who can fill a role, look to the Observer to help you complete the map.  Unrelated tasks and decisions may have different maps, but similar tasks may have a fair bit of overlap.

Build your own network.  Having a strong network is beneficial in terms of career advancement, but it is also useful in terms of getting things done.  The Connector is an important role for cross-organizational work and if you can be the Connector for your organization, it puts you in a more visible position which can lead to more important assignments.  Review Episode 029 - Building a Network for ways that you can build your network.

Build your people skills.  Many of the roles involved in office politics require interacting with others.  Building influence and making positive relationships will not just help your current situation but will serve you well for the future, too.

Become "the one".  The final strategy is to become the go-to person for something within your organization.  This could be by becoming the expert such that you become an influencer or by having a strong network to be the connector.  You could also take ownership of a process so that you become a decision maker or gatekeeper.  Regardless of which role you take, you can use this position of importance to negotiate favors from others allowing you to accomplish your tasks while assisting them in their tasks.

This episode, we've looked at the positive side of office politics.  Next week, we will take a look at some of the challenges that you may face and how you can address them.  Be sure to subscribe in your podcast player of choice so that you get the next episode as soon as it's available.