Politics is the process by which we resolve diverse and sometimes conflicting interests. In the workplace we often think of politics as a negative — a corrupting process that hurts people and organizations. And sometimes, that's what happens.

Benjamin Franklin, painting by David Martin, 1767. Photo courtesy U.S. Library of Congress.
But politics comes in many flavors — it need not be destructive. Constructive politics gives us a way to make decisions together that take into account the needs and goals of diverse groups. Practicing constructive politics is an art, and leaders can model the best practices. Here are some ideas to keep in mind when practicing politics.
- Both pragmatism and ideology have their places
- Ideologies provide guidance when we aren't sure which way to go. And sometimes, when we adhere to ideologies too closely, they limit our ability to account for uncertainty or for the views of others.
- Pragmatism creates the flexibility we need to take into account the uncertainty that prevails in most environments, and to enable us to adapt decisions to the goals of diverse constituencies.
- Favor inclusiveness over domination
- When groups become polarized, dominance of one faction over all others is one path to stability. Sadly, this kind of stability is vulnerable in changing environments.
- To achieve a more durable stability, seek solutions based on inclusive alliances.
- Shorten your time horizon
- Constructive politics
helps us take account
of the needs of
diverse constituencies - Taking the long view comes only at the expense of flexibility. In many cases the situation is so fluid that the future we were trying to accommodate never actually comes to pass, so the flexibility sacrifice we make today can be fruitless.
- By shortening your time horizon, you can recover flexibility, and that flexibility enables inclusiveness.
- Abandon behaviorism and revenge
- Some political operators choose tactics designed to "teach them a lesson." This is a behaviorist strategy, or sometimes it's driven by a desire for revenge. But because true learning is a voluntary activity, and "they" never enrolled in our "course," "they" rarely learn the lesson we had in mind.
- Hurting or terrorizing people isn't likely to convert anyone. At best, it begets compliance; at worst, destructive conflict. Neither outcome is a sound basis for an effective organization.
- Narrow your own goals
- Broad sets of goals tend to impose constraints that limit options. Narrowing your goals, which can feel like a loss, can often create new options that lead to outcomes you wouldn't have achieved otherwise.
- Focus on your must-haves, with "must" narrowly defined. Set aside for now the rest of your goals, and revisit them after your new alliance has had some successes.
Most important, when things turn toxic, get help. An impartial professional can usually suggest adjustments that would be rejected if one of the rival factions proposed them. Be careful though — this also applies to suggesting the need for help. Top
Next Issue
Is every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info
For a connection between positive politics and retention, see "Retention," Point Lookout for February 7, 2007.
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Related articles
More articles on Workplace Politics:
Currying Favor
- The behavior of the office kiss-up drives many people bats. It's more than annoying, though —
it does real harm to the organization. What is the behavior?
Ten Tactics for Tough Times: I
- When you find yourself in a tough spot politically, what can you do? Most of us obsess about the situation
for a while, and then if we still have time to act, we do what seems best. Here's Part I of a set of
approaches that can organize your thinking and shorten the obsessing.
Why Don't They Believe Me?
- When we want people to believe us, and they don't, it just might be a result of our own actions or demeanor.
How does this happen?
Fooling Ourselves
- Humans have impressive abilities to convince themselves of things that are false. One explanation for
this behavior is the theory of cognitive dissonance.
Narcissistic Behavior at Work: I
- Briefly, when people exhibit narcissistic behavior they're engaging in activity that systematically
places their own interests and welfare ahead of the interests and welfare of anyone or anything else.
It's behavior that threatens the welfare of the organization and everyone employed there.
See also Workplace Politics and Conflict Management for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming April 14: What Micromanaging Is and Isn't
- Micromanaging is a particularly dysfunctional pattern of management behavior, involving interference in the work others are supposedly doing. Confusion about what it is and what it isn't makes effective response difficult. Available here and by RSS on April 14.
And on April 21: Choice-Supportive Bias
- Choice-supportive bias is a cognitive bias that causes us to evaluate our past choices as more fitting than they actually were. The erroneous judgments it produces can be especially costly to organizations interested in improving decision processes. Available here and by RSS on April 21.
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Decis
ion-makers in modern organizations commonly demand briefings in the form of bullet points or a series of series of bullet points. But this form of presentation has limited value for complex decisions. We need something more. We actually need to think. Briefers who combine the bullet-point format with a variety of persuasion techniques can mislead decision-makers, guiding them into making poor decisions. Read more about this program.
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- A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
- A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
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Beware any resource that speaks of "winning" at workplace politics or "defeating" it. You can benefit or not, but there is no score-keeping, and it isn't a game.
- Wikipedia has a nice article with a list of additional resources
- Some public libraries offer collections. Here's an example from Saskatoon.
- Check my own links collection
- LinkedIn's Office Politics discussion group