Last week, Karen, a seasoned senior executive, announced she was leaving her firm to pursue other opportunities. After a stellar career in luxury brands, she was going to become an executive coach, teach, and consult for an NGO in China. She left to "pursue other opportunities" – how often have we read these announcements?
On the surface, it may sound great, she is doing outreach with an Asian NGO, etcetera. The reality is not great; her position was made redundant and she didn’t see it coming.
Organizations have two types of people – task manager and tactician – both are needed, both valuable, and one more vulnerable than the other. Guess which is which?
Karen may fulfill her dream to help others, but it didn't have to be this way for her to start with an NGO. Corporate politics is one large reason talented managers leave organizations. In the past year, I’ve met more people with stories like Karen’s – many are fed up, tired and can’t take it anymore. Digging into the root cause of these feelings, corporate politics floats to the top of the surface.
Interestingly enough, a Fast Company survey revealed that women were unusually susceptible to corporate politics – perhaps one large factor why the number of women dissipate on the way to the top of the organization. Bain Consulting has done research on corporate gender parity, and discovered women entrepreneurs in the United States start 1600 new businesses daily, and women-owned businesses grow at twice the rate of other businesses. So clearly that dissipation ain't necessarily so..
Now, leaving the corporate world doesn’t mean the politics stop – whether consultant, entrepreneur or small business owner, politics are always present. One must learn to live with it, rather than turn the other cheek or run away from it. Politics is about power; the managing, leveraging and connecting to power. Rising to the top and selling ideas means tapping into powerful decision makers, and many professionals know how to use this skill intuitively and effortlessly.
Some examine power externally, but forget about internal dynamics. Mapping power networks and understanding the multiple layers of power is critical, but many feel uncomfortable with this approach. I always hear from my clients, “it feels manipulative.”
If the thought of managing power sounds distasteful, consider building social capital – a professional and personal power network. Social capital is a critical element of success for any business leader, large or small.
For those still not convinced about building power maps or increasing social capital – consider the rise of Nancy Pelosi and Julia Gillard. Both are politically adroit, with an acute understanding of behind-the-scenes networking to sell ideas for the good of the state/country.
