
“Office Politics” is a common expression that is used and generally has negative connotations.
Jennifer didn't get promoted because Frank is the boss’s favorite.
Sally the new boss ignored Jennifer's idea in favor of John’s because Sally had worked with John previously.
Jennifer stayed loyal to her boss but when she quit no one realized Jennifer knew how to manage the team and should have been picked as the new boss.
Do these situations sound like ones that you might put in the ‘Politics at Work’ category?
How about we re-frame the term ‘Politics at Work’ and use ‘Using your Organizational Savvy to Achieve your Goals’?
Sometimes I wish there were no grey areas. I wish there were perfectly aligned cascading objectives from management, the competitors of a product or service were static, and everyone was committed to the organization for the duration of a release cycle, and everyone delivered everything they said they would on time. Truth is most things are influx and we have to learn to adapt as they change.
Building your organizational savvy muscle will help provide some protection from churn. You may read this article and think there’s nothing related to being a woman in it, as this is advice for everyone. That’s true, except the three areas it hits on are: Networking, Self-promotion, and Negotiation – all areas women often find challenging. This article should help you realize the necessity of developing those areas in order to be better at using Organizational Savvy and not be afraid of politics at work.
Here are three steps to help increase your Organizational Savvy
1. Keep tabs on the environment around you
Think of information as two types: formal information and informal information. Together they help you understand the organizational environment. Formal information is information provided on intranet sites about missions, visions, objectives, it is information provided in address books giving insights on relationships and organizational structure. It is the formal email organizational announcements sent division and company-wide. It can also be found in company press releases.
Then there’s informal information – the challenge of informal information is it’s not a fact, but access to informal information can help in several ways. It can help forecast possible directions of where a division or company may head, it can provide background information on a new leader and preference of work style, it can keep increase your awareness of possible partners or allies for the direction you want to move in.
Where do you find informal information? Try your network – and it isn't just talking with people who are already in your network but adding to your network – your network is dynamic and needs to be adapting as the environment changes.
So first keep in touch with people who seem relevant to the environment that may be able to provide additional perspectives. Second – build your network based on organizational change – if new players are moving into the organization be prepared to talk to them and learn about them, their objectives, how they work. Too often if we were previously in a comfortable situation making these new connections feels like hard-work or even disloyal but it’s all about having information about the environment you are working in.
2. Make it easy for your campaign message to circulate without you
Have you heard of lobbyists? Again, often a term that feels negative when considered in politics but a lobbyist is someone who tries to influence or persuade a member of government to enact legislation that would benefit their group. The same process is used unofficially in the workplace – in order to influence change or support of an idea you need to have a message that is easy to communicate and understand, and can be appropriately modified to suit the audience you’re appealing to. These types of conversations may be formal and deliberate (presentation of an idea) but many are informal where an idea is raised casually and tested to measure its appeal. Feedback can help with refining the idea before moving to the formal presentation, or can be used for better informal conversations to help build support for the idea.
3. Be open to negotiating win-win situations
Naturally we focus on what we want and strategize how to get it which usually includes a logical argument of the value of what we’re asking for. However, many workshops and seminars on successful negotiations emphasize the need to understand what matters to the person you’re trying to negotiate with. The more you understand what matters to your partner and what outcome they are trying to achieve the better your position to negotiate is. The questions you need to be considering are, ‘To achieve my goal what can I offer my partner to help him/her get closer to his/her goal?’ and ‘What would I consider a reasonable outcome if a compromise is required?’
Now let’s consider the situations mentioned in the opening of this article. These are hypothetical but based on true situations. Some may say the outcomes were because of politics at work, but I want you to realize that we do have more ability to influence outcomes if we really step up our organizational savvy and learn to make the insights from our savvy actionable.
Jennifer didn't get promoted because Frank is the boss’s favorite.
Frank may have been aware of the organization environment and a change that was going to happen; perhaps he wasn't afraid to tell his boss and some influential people nearby an idea he had to help the team, perhaps he was able to negotiate the position by knowing what mattered to his boss.
Sally the new boss ignored Jennifer’s idea in favor of John’s because Sally had worked with John previously.
Sally was busy settling into her new job, she already knew John’s reputation and what he was thinking. Jennifer waited to be asked for a meeting with her new boss, and presented a formal plan that didn't map to how Sally was thinking about the organization generally operated.
Jennifer stayed loyal to her boss but when she quit no one realized Jennifer knew how to manage the team and should have been picked as the new boss.
Jennifer didn't renew her network as change was heading her way. She may have failed to tell the new management team that she wanted to become the boss, expecting them to come to her. No one told them she had the skills for the job. She didn't ask for the position or an opportunity for her to demonstrate her skills.
For each of these situations I have seen Jennifer miss out on opportunities because she didn't proactively get involved in responding to the changing environment, hoping someone would notice her skills or ask her opinion, or give her what she was asking for because it made sense to her. But I have also seen Jennifer take action and get results - it took courage to step up but she was able to get what she wanted through engaging.
Jennifer didn't get promoted because Frank is the boss’s favorite.
Sally the new boss ignored Jennifer's idea in favor of John’s because Sally had worked with John previously.
Jennifer stayed loyal to her boss but when she quit no one realized Jennifer knew how to manage the team and should have been picked as the new boss.
Do these situations sound like ones that you might put in the ‘Politics at Work’ category?
How about we re-frame the term ‘Politics at Work’ and use ‘Using your Organizational Savvy to Achieve your Goals’?
Sometimes I wish there were no grey areas. I wish there were perfectly aligned cascading objectives from management, the competitors of a product or service were static, and everyone was committed to the organization for the duration of a release cycle, and everyone delivered everything they said they would on time. Truth is most things are influx and we have to learn to adapt as they change.
Building your organizational savvy muscle will help provide some protection from churn. You may read this article and think there’s nothing related to being a woman in it, as this is advice for everyone. That’s true, except the three areas it hits on are: Networking, Self-promotion, and Negotiation – all areas women often find challenging. This article should help you realize the necessity of developing those areas in order to be better at using Organizational Savvy and not be afraid of politics at work.
Here are three steps to help increase your Organizational Savvy
1. Keep tabs on the environment around you
Think of information as two types: formal information and informal information. Together they help you understand the organizational environment. Formal information is information provided on intranet sites about missions, visions, objectives, it is information provided in address books giving insights on relationships and organizational structure. It is the formal email organizational announcements sent division and company-wide. It can also be found in company press releases.
Then there’s informal information – the challenge of informal information is it’s not a fact, but access to informal information can help in several ways. It can help forecast possible directions of where a division or company may head, it can provide background information on a new leader and preference of work style, it can keep increase your awareness of possible partners or allies for the direction you want to move in.
Where do you find informal information? Try your network – and it isn't just talking with people who are already in your network but adding to your network – your network is dynamic and needs to be adapting as the environment changes.
So first keep in touch with people who seem relevant to the environment that may be able to provide additional perspectives. Second – build your network based on organizational change – if new players are moving into the organization be prepared to talk to them and learn about them, their objectives, how they work. Too often if we were previously in a comfortable situation making these new connections feels like hard-work or even disloyal but it’s all about having information about the environment you are working in.
2. Make it easy for your campaign message to circulate without you
Have you heard of lobbyists? Again, often a term that feels negative when considered in politics but a lobbyist is someone who tries to influence or persuade a member of government to enact legislation that would benefit their group. The same process is used unofficially in the workplace – in order to influence change or support of an idea you need to have a message that is easy to communicate and understand, and can be appropriately modified to suit the audience you’re appealing to. These types of conversations may be formal and deliberate (presentation of an idea) but many are informal where an idea is raised casually and tested to measure its appeal. Feedback can help with refining the idea before moving to the formal presentation, or can be used for better informal conversations to help build support for the idea.
3. Be open to negotiating win-win situations
Naturally we focus on what we want and strategize how to get it which usually includes a logical argument of the value of what we’re asking for. However, many workshops and seminars on successful negotiations emphasize the need to understand what matters to the person you’re trying to negotiate with. The more you understand what matters to your partner and what outcome they are trying to achieve the better your position to negotiate is. The questions you need to be considering are, ‘To achieve my goal what can I offer my partner to help him/her get closer to his/her goal?’ and ‘What would I consider a reasonable outcome if a compromise is required?’
Now let’s consider the situations mentioned in the opening of this article. These are hypothetical but based on true situations. Some may say the outcomes were because of politics at work, but I want you to realize that we do have more ability to influence outcomes if we really step up our organizational savvy and learn to make the insights from our savvy actionable.
Jennifer didn't get promoted because Frank is the boss’s favorite.
Frank may have been aware of the organization environment and a change that was going to happen; perhaps he wasn't afraid to tell his boss and some influential people nearby an idea he had to help the team, perhaps he was able to negotiate the position by knowing what mattered to his boss.
Sally the new boss ignored Jennifer’s idea in favor of John’s because Sally had worked with John previously.
Sally was busy settling into her new job, she already knew John’s reputation and what he was thinking. Jennifer waited to be asked for a meeting with her new boss, and presented a formal plan that didn't map to how Sally was thinking about the organization generally operated.
Jennifer stayed loyal to her boss but when she quit no one realized Jennifer knew how to manage the team and should have been picked as the new boss.
Jennifer didn't renew her network as change was heading her way. She may have failed to tell the new management team that she wanted to become the boss, expecting them to come to her. No one told them she had the skills for the job. She didn't ask for the position or an opportunity for her to demonstrate her skills.
For each of these situations I have seen Jennifer miss out on opportunities because she didn't proactively get involved in responding to the changing environment, hoping someone would notice her skills or ask her opinion, or give her what she was asking for because it made sense to her. But I have also seen Jennifer take action and get results - it took courage to step up but she was able to get what she wanted through engaging.