Strategy: 9 Rules of Office Politics you Have to Understand to Get Ahead…Women are More Likely than Men to Avoid the Politics & Believe That If they Focus on Their Performance & Work Hard
There isn’t any topic about the workplace that brings up more anger and frustration than office politics. “It’s just not fair!” is what I hear over and over again when addressing this topic in presentations and workshops. Women especially find this an emotional issue.
Why? Because women are more likely than men to avoid the politics and believe that if they focus on their performance and work hard, they will get ahead. This avoidance, however, sets them up to be blindsided.
Unaware of the politics at play, they are often passed over for promotions and not given the resources they need to succeed. They become disillusioned and angry.
The reality, which is sometimes hard to come to terms with, is that it takes political savvy to get ahead and stay ahead.
1. You can’t escape it. It’s everywhere.
It is not uncommon for people to voice their annoyance with the politics in their company and department and seek another position to solve this problem. They make a move only to find out that politics exists everywhere. In some instances, the politics may not be obvious, but it exists in every department and every company. In fact, whenever there is more than one person, there is politics!
Think about going out for dinner with a group of friends. Who sits next to whom? Who shares the gossip with whom? In sharing this gossip, are they hoping to gain favor and influence? Are they seeking to be accepted and liked? They are perhaps using this information for “political” influence with their friends.
Have you visited your children’s classroom and observed the dynamics? Aren’t there politics at play there as well? Children seeking favor with the teacher or other students is a common behavior. They learn at an early age what it takes to have power and influence and what it takes to succeed.
The fact is you can’t escape politics. It’s everywhere and you need to deal with it at some level in order to thrive in the workplace.
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2. The unwritten rules often rule.
The people who try to diligently follow the rules are often very frustrated. Yes, every company has a company handbook with the formal policies, but it is the unwritten rules that are important. What’s frustrating about this fact is that these rules are not obvious. It takes both focus and intention to discover what the rules are before you break one of them by mistake.
In fact, some unwritten rules are sacred and you need to know what they are or you can step on a landmine that will sabotage your career. If you’re lucky, when you join a new company or department, a trusted colleague will fill you in as to what the real rules are.
Once you accept the fact that there are unwritten rules, you can make it your intention to uncover them. The rules often differ depending on your boss, department, and team. Therefore, you must be cognizant of your surroundings to understand how to play the game and how to win the game.
3. The rules are constantly changing.
Another challenge to office politics is that the rules are always changing. Just when you’ve figured out what rules are sacred to your boss, he/she changes the rules and what was acceptable yesterday will not help you move forward tomorrow. New leadership comes in and things shift.
People adapt to these changes and what they once considered to be important is no longer valid. It’s a full-time job staying abreast of people’s rules and the importance they attach to their rules at different points in time.
4. People who get promoted aren’t the most qualified.
This can be the most frustrating fact of all. For when you work hard and then witness other people less qualified than you getting promotions, it doesn’t seem fair. It seems that these people pay more attention to the politics than they do their jobs, so you feel justified in being upset.
In reality, however, the people who have developed their political and social capital along with great performance will always come out on top. For they have mastered how to work the system, and they have aligned themselves with people in the organization who have power and influence.
5. All decisions are influenced by politics.
Politics influences all decisions; whether it’s access to scarce resources, promotions, special bonuses and incentives, or raises. There are most certainly policies and procedures in every company but if you track how decisions are made, you will recognize that they are often influenced by politics.
Some people get special attention because they happen to be in favor with decision makers and influencers. These people are plugged into the power sources and benefit from it.
If you want to know who the people are who have influence and power, take the time to track how decisions are made. You will soon see that decision makers have a network of influencers that they consult. These informal networks of influencers have tremendous power.
6. There are informal networks within the company that have power and influence over all decisions.
The power and influence isn’t always determined by the organizational chart. There are informal networks, sometimes referred to as the Old Boys Club, that have the ear of senior management. They don’t necessarily occupy the top of the organizational chart, but don’t be fooled.
They still have a great deal of power over decisions that impact the direction of the company and your career. These decisions are most often made in informal settings outside the office, over drinks after work or on the golf course. That’s when the brainstorming and discussion takes place that results in major decisions.
7. The informal power networks are extremely difficult to penetrate (especially for women).
Women have traditionally been excluded from these informal networks. This fact makes it more difficult for women to impact the decision-making process. Typically, they aren’t invited to the informal meeting before the meeting or the meeting after the meeting where key decisions are made. This is certainly frustrating if you’re an outsider to these networks, because it means you can only react to decisions and not be proactive in the process.
8. There are constant shifts in power and influence.
One thing we know for sure is that change is constant. Over the course of my corporate career, I lost count of the number of mergers and acquisitions my companies endured. Each time, there was a change in leadership and direction.
Senior leaders come and go and the culture changes, the rules change, and as a result, the power and influence shifts. People gain and lose favor and the dynamics are always in flux. Yes, it’s frustrating to keep track of all this, but it’s necessary for you to survive and thrive in a politically charged environment.
9. Politics can make or break your career.
This is, of course, the most frustrating fact of all, especially for those people who believe in a meritocracy. Many of us believe that we will be rewarded for our hard work and talent. After all, we succeeded in school because of our diligence. But the rules in the workplace are different. It’s not a true meritocracy. It’s not a level playing field.
In order to be successful, you need to not only do the hard work, perhaps even extra work, but also create visibility and credibility for yourself. Otherwise, you run the risk of remaining invisible in a crowded and competitive environment.
Politics is all about relationships. It’s critical to build and nurture relationships with people who can positively impact your career. You need to build a power network by identifying and aligning yourself with those with power and influence. You also must be aware that politics rules and there are constant changes in the workplace dynamics that can trip you up if you aren’t aware of them.
The facts about office politics may be very frustrating, but they must be understood for your success. Embrace the politics, whatever they are, and pay special attention to the reality of your workplace. How are decisions made? Who influences those decisions? What are the unwritten rules? What does it take to get promoted?
Your performance and your political savvy are the key to getting ahead and staying ahead.
Want to know how savvy you are about what it takes to get ahead? Take this challenge on The Politics of Promotion.
Interested in learning how to navigate office politics? Check out my book, “The Politics of Promotion: How High Achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead.”