Cultural Indicators of Political Risk

Politics is indispensible at work. It is the means by which we resolve problems jointly, and allocate resources to achieve joint objectives. And politics has a dark side. Some political operators use political means to advance personal agendas at the expense of the organization, their colleagues, or both. What are the indicators of such behavior? How can we tell whether there is political risk to our organizations, or to our own personal well-being? Here are some indicators of political risk, emphasizing attributes of organizational culture.

Intentionally inflicting political harm

Political harm to others can be an unintended result of legitimate actions. Sometimes, it's unavoidable. But if someone you work with has harmed another politically, and has done so intentionally, as the primary objective of the political act, beware. That person apparently believes that such actions are within cultural norms. Maybe they are.

Boasting about having inflicted political harm

Someone boasting of having inflicted political harm on another could be a signal that, at least in the view of the boaster, the culture actually admires those who succeed in harming others. Such a cultural norm encourages politically motivated attacks. Watch your back.

Bearing grudges, seeking revenge, or avoiding someone

Harboring grudges Environments in which people
perceive an absence of procedural
justice are fertile grounds for
the tactics of toxic politicsagainst others, seeking revenge, or avoiding others, are all tactics people use when they feel wronged. People are more likely to use these tactics when they feel that "procedural justice" is unavailable [Aquino 2006]. Environments in which people perceive an absence of procedural justice are fertile grounds for the tactics of toxic politics.

Rampant bigotry

When people act out of bigotry against a race, a sex, a sexual orientation, an age group, an ethnic group, a profession, an educational level, an alma mater, a birthplace, or whatever, and when the organizational culture tolerates those bigoted actions, the bigots will, very likely, eventually get around to discriminating against some group that you belong to.

Rampant idolatry

Another form of bigotry, with polarity opposite to the most common forms of bigotry, is idolatry, in which we hold members of one social group to be inherently superior to all others. Members of the favored group rarely complain. But if you don't belong to the favored group, you could be at risk.

Feuds

Feuds are long-running toxic conflicts between social groups. Feuds between alliances centered around members of the management team at a given level, might be an indication of the inability (or unwillingness) of more senior managers to repair the cultural defects that allow feuds to persist. Even if you aren't currently a member of a feuding faction, the culture may be such that a feud can develop that will involve your part of the organization. Be alert.

Personal attributes are another set of indicators of political risk. We'll explore these next time.  Next in this series  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

Footnotes

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Workplace Politics:

The Advantages of Political Attack: III

In workplace politics, attackers have significant advantages that explain, in part, their surprising success rate. In this third part of our series on political attacks, we examine the psychological advantages of attackers.

Active Deceptions at Work

Among the vast family of workplace deceptions, those that involve presenting fiction as reality are among the most exasperating, because we sometimes feel fooled or gullible. Lies are the simplest example of this type, but there are others, and some are fiendishly clever.

Bottlenecks: II

When some people take on so much work that they become "bottlenecks," they expose the organization to risks. Managing those risks is a first step to ending the bottlenecking pattern.

Influence and Belief Perseverance

Belief perseverance is the pattern that causes us to cling more tightly to our beliefs when contradictory information arrives. Those who understand belief perseverance can use it to manipulate others.

Columbo Tactics: I

When the less powerful must deal with the more powerful, or the much more powerful, the less powerful can gain important advantages by adapting the strategy and tactics of the TV detective Lt. Columbo. Here's Part I of a collection of his tactics.

See also Workplace Politics and Devious Political Tactics for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming August 19: Motivated Reasoning

When we prefer a certain outcome of a decision process, we risk falling into a pattern of motivated reasoning. That can cause us to gather data and construct arguments that lead to the outcome we prefer, often outside our awareness. And it can happen even when the outcome we prefer is known to threaten our safety and security. Available here and by RSS on August 19.

And on August 26: Motivated Reasoning and the Pseudocertainty Effect

When we have a preconceived notion of what conclusion a decision process should produce, we sometimes engage in "motivated reasoning" to ensure that we get the result we want. But when we do this in relation to a chain of decisions in the context of uncertainty, trouble looms. Available here and by RSS on August 26.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenmhXARWRMUvVyOdHlner@ChacxgDmtwOKrxnripPCoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Public seminars

The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power

Many people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, 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 29, 2017, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   

Bullet Points: Mastery or Madness?

Decision-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.

• A recording of a program presented June 24, 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, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.