Five Ways to win at Office Politics

There is the saying that if you have 3 or more people in an office environment, you will need to deal with office politics.

Most of us at some stage have had to deal with office politics, as either an employee or employer.  At its most destructive, office politics can destroy people’s lives and is a type of cancer which invades a work place.  On the other hand office politics can be a force for positive change (depending on the political behaviour of the manager and staff).

Put simply, most office politics is part of a dysfunctional human behaviour centred in self-interest, or rather what is in it for me.  It is used to obtain promotions (self interest), to put other people down (self interest), to get your own way (self interest).  Such self-interest can be destructive to an organisation, as it destroys work place concepts of honesty, integrity, the building of cohesive relationships and a willingness to work with others (not against others).  Office politics can also reduce organisational productivity and adversely affect morale.

If you are a victim of office politics, or you are a person that thinks office politics is the way to work your way up as – before you engage in the destructive cycle, why not win at office politics by using the principles of influence.

Behave professionally

Getting involved in office politics will NOT reflect well on you.  An unscrupulous and ruthless player might win in the short term, but ultimately it will destroy relationships and result in a poor work environment.    

However, just because you don’t get involved in office politics, does not mean you can ignore the office politics, in particular if you are a victim of office politics, gossip and alliances.  You need to be aware of the manipulation-taking place and take measures against it.  For example, communicate in a clear and precise manner, so that what you say, or write cannot be misinterpreted, avoid demeaning others and remain cool and level headed, and work on promoting yourself within the organisation, without putting others down.

Build positive relationships through reciprocation

The principle of reciprocation is that people feel indebted to those who do something for them.  So when it comes to office politics, if you are giving, rather than taking, then the people who receive a positive experience from you are more likely to want to give you something, or support you in return.   Reciprocation is probably the best way to win at office politics, although it won’t work in 100% of cases.

Commitment and Consistency

People don’t usually back out of deals and are more likely to do something after they are agreed to it.  So getting your co-worker to publicly commit to something, means that they are more likely to follow through with an action or promise within the workplace, which in turn will increase your success within an organisation.

Liking

People prefer to say ‘yes’ to people that they know and like.  Your biggest defence or way to win at office politics is to be likeable.  That is not to say that you should bend over backwards to be likeable at ‘all costs’ even if this is detrimental to you.  What I am saying is that people prefer to work with people with a sense of humour, or someone that gives a genuine compliment and listens and shows empathy.  Likeability can be invaluable during times of political fallout.

Authority

People respect authority – and someone that demonstrates authority and is credible, increases the likelihood that others will comply with requests.  As a credible person, you are more likely to gain support among your peers.