A new Managing Director, addressing a group of managers at an organizational pep rally states, "We do not allow politics here, it is a flat organization and I welcome criticism-and mean it!" Many nod their head in agreement, some make an aside comment, ‘Now I can finally do my job-maybe this guy will sweep out all those idiots in charge."
Hold on a minute-is this a real-life situation? Not really. Politics in the true sense of the word (going back to its Greek origin) is about building coalitions to achieve the desired objectives. Everyone’s job requires building relationships to get things done. As a new leader, our Managing Director above needs all the relationships he can manage at the outset.
Hearing his words, I thought how naive, especially from an MD, indeed, how genuinely sad. Understanding politics is a critical survival skill, and a key to success in organizations. For a leader to announce the opposite is disingenuous at best. Managers who can build coalitions have a much easier time getting their ideas sold and implemented. Those that don’t-or can’t-sit behind their desks toiling away for hours, bewildered, angry, and wonder why everyone conspires against them. During a time of recession or restructuring, hard ball politics increase as people fight for scarce resources.
The myth or misconception about politics is its negativity. Yet, politics is at the core of management. Political adroitness means engaging in the whole organization, not sitting on the sidelines, watching and waiting for something to happen. Politically savvy Managers can read, understand, and locate the power networks inside organizations and build on these networks for the good of the organization.
Rather than saying we have no politics here, isn’t it better to equip managers with these critical skills. Politics exist in every organization and for very specific reasons – to get things done. We’ve all seen the slow death of projects under a politically incompetent manager and witnessed the disastrous results of an overly political leader. Politically savvy skills are fundamental to individual and organizational success. Yet, very few organizations and business schools teach these skills.
Why is this? Perhaps this is due to the ambiguous nature and misconceptions around the word. Some see politics as evil and destructive, others view (and use) politics to build coalitions needed for support and achievement. Once defined and understood, management programs need to connect the dots between awareness, acceptance and action for the good of the organization.
