Don’t be afraid of office politics

Office politics get a bad name. For many people, “office politics” brings to mind negative images like gossip, backstabbing, undermining, or the unfair promotion of undeserving people to jobs they didn’t earn.

But in a sense, “office politics” is just another word for “managing perceptions” and “relationship building.”

If you know how to navigate office politics, your job and your career will benefit. You don’t have to gossip or undermine your colleagues, and you don’t have to be a sycophant. You just need to pay attention to how people perceive you at work, make an effort to get people on your side, and look for ways to help other people reach their goals.
 

Here are some myths and realities of “office politics”:

Myth: Office politics is all about gossip and talking about people behind their backs.
Reality: People usually won’t talk about you unless you’re giving them a reason to talk. So give them something good to talk about! It’s true that gossip is a part of human life – and the workplace is no exception. But unless you’re developing a reputation as someone who’s untrustworthy, who doesn’t pull their weight, or who can’t be relied on to do good work, you don’t need to worry about gossip. In fact, if people are talking about you, as long as it’s not malicious gossip, you should welcome it – because this shows that they’re interested in what you’re doing.

Myth: The only people who “play politics” at the office are people who can’t get ahead on their own merits.
Reality: Whether you like it or not, you need to know how to manage people’s perceptions of you at work. You need to be disciplined in how you respond to setbacks, how you talk about your projects, and how you share credit with your team. Be generous. Use humor, but don’t be too self-deprecating – people won’t take you as seriously if you’re always talking down your achievements or displaying false modesty.

Myth: Office politics is a way for ruthless ladder-climbers to get into jobs they don’t deserve.
Reality: Office politics is a way to help other people achieve their goals. Everyone in your office has an agenda – some people’s agenda is just to stay employed at their current job for the rest of their career, while your boss’s agenda might be to become a senior vice president, and your co-worker’s agenda might be to work a more flexible schedule to spend more time with her young children. By finding out more about the goals and motivations of everyone on your team, you can find opportunities to help them – by making your colleagues look good to the boss, by making your boss look better to her boss, or by taking some work off your co-worker’s plate so she can get home to her kids. If you can help your fellow workers achieve their goals, they’ll be more likely to help you achieve yours.

Every workplace is its own complex system, and everyone has a chance to make the system run more smoothly (by being diligent, generous and paying attention to the needs of others) or cause problems (by creating resentments, being inflexible and operating without regard for other people). Office politics, just like “real” politics, is neither good nor bad in itself; it’s just part of how the overall system works.


Ben Gran is a freelance writer and marketing consultant based in Des Moines, Iowa. He is an award-winning blogger who loves to write about careers and the future of work.
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