In the workplace, political attack differs from routine politics. Routine politics centers around issues: how we should allocate resources, or which strategies would be most effective. In routine politics, the issues themselves usually determine the places and times of political interactions. For instance, the political debates about budget allocations generally occur near the deadlines for budget decisions.

George Washington Crossing the Delaware. By the closing days of 1776, with the new nation not yet six months old, the War for Independence was not going well for the former colonies. Washington and his Continental Army had been driven from New York, and the British were occupying both New York and Boston. Washington had retreated west across New Jersey, and final defeat seemed so certain that he had lost much of his army to desertion. Badly in need of a victory, he decided to attack the Hessian garrison at Trenton on the day after Christmas. He chose that day because it was unexpected, and at the time, warfare during the winter season was relatively rare, though becoming less so. The timing and location offered Washington significant advantages, and they did contribute to victory, but he strengthened his plan by gathering extensive intelligence during the week prior to the attack, and by employing a tactic we now call "disinformation" to mislead the Hessians as to his designs. After taking Trenton, he pressed his position, controlling the tempo of the battle, and took Princeton. Office politics and military engagements do differ, but we can learn much from clever military tacticians. The painting is of oil on canvas, by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, American, 1816-1868. Photo courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Political attacks, by contrast, are timed by the attackers to secure political advantage. For instance, attacks might occur one after the other, to saturate the target's ability to respond. Or, to exploit perceived weaknesses, attackers might engage targets who are already in trouble from other sources.
Because they have the initiative, attackers have time to prepare. They can design their attacks in relative freedom. Closely spaced attacks give the attacker further advantage, because the target's responses are tightly time-constrained.
But timing is just one of the advantages of attackers. Here are some of the choices attackers have that targets do not. See "The Advantages of Political Attack: I," Point Lookout for September 3, 2008, for some of the more general advantages of attackers.
- Timing
- Sophisticated attackers choose times that work to their own advantage. For instance, the attacker might choose a time when the target is preoccupied with an important deadline, or when traveling or on vacation. Attacks on those who are ill are also possible, but they're rare, because they seem so ruthless.
- Since attacks are more likely when you're under pressure, get better at managing pressure. But you can influence even these events, if you let it be known that you'll be busy at a time when you actually won't. Another example: change your previously announced vacation dates suddenly.
- Venue
- Political attackers have choices
that their targets do not. The
choices they make can
confer significant advantages. - The venue is the attacker's choice: a meeting, an email message, a private conversation or a confidential memo outside the target's awareness — anything is possible.
- Awareness of an attack is the first step in formulating a response. Since you can't monitor all venues, rely on your network. And you needn't respond in the venue in which you're attacked. Choose a venue for your response that meets your needs; the venue of the attack was chosen for the attacker's advantage.
- Prepositioned assets
- Since the attacker has planned the attack and can anticipate a subsequent exchange, he or she can acquire relevant assets in advance. Assets include relationships, information, planted rumors, intelligence, analyses, projections, procedures, and much more. For instance, an attacker can study arcane policies, regulations, or technologies for use later during an exchange.
- Anticipate the directions from which attacks can come. Notice whether alliances are forming, whether you're being isolated, or whether the organizational conversation is turning to topics of which you are relatively ignorant. Do what you can to limit the effectiveness of these preparations, and make preparations of your own.
Attackers have one more set of advantages: the willingness to engage. We'll look at the psychology of the attack next time. First in this series Next in this series Top
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Related articles
More articles on Workplace Politics:
Obstacles to Finding the Reasons Why
- When we investigate what went wrong, we sometimes encounter obstacles. Interviewing witnesses and participants
doesn't always uncover the reasons why. What are these obstacles?
Not Really Part of the Team: I
- Some team members hang back. They show little initiative and have little social contact with other team
members. How does this come about?
Some Hazards of Skip-Level Interviews: III
- Skip-level interviews — dialogs between a subordinate and the subordinate's supervisor's supervisor
— can be hazardous. Here's Part III of a little catalog of the hazards, emphasizing subordinate-initiated
skip-level interviews.
Impasses in Group Decision-Making: IV
- Some impasses that develop in group decision-making relate to the substance of the discussion. Some
are not substantive, but still present serious obstacles. What can we do about nonsubstantive impasses?
More Obstacles to Finding the Reasons Why
- Retrospectives — also known as lessons learned exercises or after-action reviews — sometimes
miss important insights. Here are some additions to our growing catalog of obstacles to learning.
See also Workplace Politics and Conflict Management for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming January 20: Anticipating Absence: Quarantine and Isolation
- When the pandemic compels some knowledge workers to quarantine or isolate, we tend to treat them as if they were totally unavailable. But if they're willing and able to work, even part-time, they might be able to continue to contribute. To make this happen, work out conditions in advance. Available here and by RSS on January 20.
And on January 27: Cost Concerns: Comparisons
- When we assess the costs of different options for solving a problem, we must take care not to commit a variety of errors in approach. These errors can lead to flawed decisions. One activity at risk for error is comparing the costs of two options. Available here and by RSS on January 27.
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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