CORPORATE POLITICS: A STRENGTH OR A WEAKNESS?

Multiple studies report that good employees are trading off their corporate job to pursue other opportunities. Among several reasons for the change, corporate politics is cited as one. In fact, younger generations are avoiding the corporate world all together so they don’t have to deal with corporate politics. So, is corporate politics a strength or a weakness?

Corporate politics is defined as “the use of power and social networking within an organization to achieve changes that benefit the organization or individuals within it”. Corporate politics is inevitable simply because is a derivative of human relationships. However, it is a fact that in today’s world corporate politics has a negative connotation.

I have recently attended a CFO forum, where I was impressed by the answer from one of the guest speakers to the question: What characteristics should your successor have? His answer “someone different than me”. Most answers have a list of characteristics that commonly mirror those possessed by existing senior leadership, resulting in:  pre-determined career paths, promotion of status quo and demotivation of the workforce, to the point that good talent will leave and new generations may not even bother entering the corporate world. On the other hand, understanding and appreciating the value of diversity (“different”) at ALL levels of the organization helps attract good talent.

So, is corporate politics a strength or a weakness? It can be both; it is up to the senior leadership of the organization to ensure it becomes a strength.

How can you ensure corporate politics is a strength?

There are several things an organization can do, but just three elements address the root cause of corporate politics, and guarantees its sustainability by being part of the organization’s infrastructure.

1.    Diversity as a corporate value – diversity at ALL levels of the organization strengthens a company’s decision making process. Effective problem solving must consider multiple perspectives.

2.    21st Century skills focus – talent management (recruitment, development and retention) should be aligned to 21st century skills development and not pre-determined career paths.  Get to know and empower each employee in a way that is meaningful to each person.

3.    Leadership rotation strategy – innovation does not require the invention of something new, but rather a different way of doing things. Fostering the rotation of ALL levels of leadership will help break stereotypes, minimize “groupie” mentality, and nurture critical thinking. A well diverse work experience is a plus.