Jonathan—a manager trapped in office politics. Jonathan—an international marketing manager was more than fed up. During a re-organisation, he had endured several months of what he called negative office politics.
Definition of office politics:
“The ways that power is used or shared in an organisation in conjunction with the internal system of social networking, including the personal and working relationships.”
Definition of a conflict:
“A disagreement among groups or individuals—characterised by antagonism and hostility.”
Now it was getting from bad to worse. Whilst the re-organisation had resulted in a larger role for him, it had also resulted in a new reporting line. Unfortunately, the working relationship with his new line manager, the global head of marketing, was difficult—to say the least. Like most experienced leaders, Jonathan had the experience of dealing with a fair amount of internal battles for and on behalf of his team.
But, now he felt his values personally attacked, his decisions were undermined, and his boss even contacted some of Jonathan’s team members directly.
Leaving the Job or Learning to Handle Negative Office Politics Successfully
Many others, who—like Jonathan—experience office politics and conflicts at work end up leaving their organisation for another job. See more here: totaljobs.com/insidejob/just-about-managing
Jonathan wanted to fight for his job and for his recent promotion, but he lacked a strategy and specific tools, so he got in touch and worked with me on the Navigate Office Politics programme.
Almost two-thirds of my clients approach me for the Navigate Office Politics programme when faced with intensive and exhausting internal conflicts at work, and I am pleased to report that everybody gets better at observing and analysing office politics. Read more here about observing office dynamics: Act as an Ethnographer.
Why Office Politics Has Positive Elements
It is a positive sign that the team or the individual finds their project, idea, or resource worth fighting for. Hence, plenty of energy can be thrown into seeking to influence and impact decisions and processes.
Successful high-performing leaders of high-performance teams understand the importance of navigating the different dynamics effectively to achieve their goals.
Want to improve your navigational skills in office politics?
