Whenever two or more people work together, there is a political system. And, the complexity of these politics increases with the number of people involved. Workplace politics can include Office Politics, Corporate Politics or Organizational Politics. Whatever the category, successful navigation in these environments requires care and skill. Political savvy is an essential leadership competency.
We’ve all lived through more than our share of political horror stories when political tactics worked against us. These tactics can include:
Who wants to play that game? People with a strong enough desire to get ahead will resort to these tactics and more. Examples of bad political behavior are so prevalent that we begin to assume that success requires a low road, win/lose approach.
Win-Lose scenarios are seldom sustainable. If you consider the tactics listed above, there’s at least one effective political tactic that doesn’t need to be dirty. It’s a servant-like behavior that all too often gets a bad name. I refer to “bootlicking“. Some might call it brown nosing and we know even more graphic, negative terms. Bad names. Who would give such bad names to potentially noble actions? Perhaps those who would prefer to take the low road. Allow me to direct you to The High Road. It’s all about strategically serving. What if we gave this tactic more positive labels that accentuate its win-win essence?
People prefer to do business with people they know, like and trust. As you seek to gain influence in your political system, ask yourself:
If you can put aside all of the bad names connected to serving others within an organization, you might give yourself a chance to become more trustworthy and thereby more powerful. To help you further, here’s one of my favorite quotes from the late motivational speaker and sales trainer, Zig Ziglar. It enables you to put a strategic spin on The Golden Rule to improve your key relationships.
“You can have everything in life you want if you’ll just help enough other people to get what they want!”
How simple is that? As you seek to improve your ability to influence without authority, how would you benefit by putting Zig’s advice into practice?
I believe that a leader’s authority is too often overrated and over used. If you apply these meanings of the words power and authority,.[1]you’ll realize that habitually providing a high level of service to others is an effective way to build your personal power. As you build your reputation as a go-to person, what happens to your ability to lead and influence? Conversely, if you routinely pull rank to induce action, what does that do for the level of engagement?
What would happen if you let go of the bad names attached to strategically serving and worked at actually doing it better?
Tom Lemanski helps accomplished leaders unlock potential, solve complex challenges, and amplify their impact.
Effective leadership is the key to driving meaningful, lasting success in a fast-changing world.
Tom’s focus on innovative strategies and self-awareness creates transformative results for leaders striving for the next level.
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