How to Succeed in the Face of Office Politics

Kathleen Kelley Reardon is an expert on office politics. A professor at USC’s Marshall School of Business and author of numerous books including The Secret Handshake: Mastering the Politics of the Business Inner Circle and It’s All Politics: Winning in a World Where Hard Work and Talent Aren’t Enough, she knows how pernicious a dysfunctional corporate culture can be – and that’s why her latest offering is Shadow Campus, a masterful debut mystery novel featuring the attempted murder of a rising academic star amidst a backdrop of maneuvering colleagues and professional intrigue.

Office politics is “often a type of politics that is ‘deniable,’” says Reardon. “It exists, but you have to really look for it, which lends itself to a mystery novel. When politics is pathological, there’s nothing happening on the surface, and everyone denies anything is going on. It only becomes apparent when you read the ‘disconnects’ – between the verbal and the nonverbal, what’s said and what’s done, and what’s required and what’s actually rewarded. We need to make ourselves aware of them to have any hope of being promoted within a highly political system.”

Reardon offers five tips to help you better navigate your own office environment.

Understand who you are. Are you a purist who insists on avoiding all office politics, asks Reardon, or a “street fighter” who doesn’t hesitate to engage? “First assess what style you think you have, talk to people who know you and have been observing you – and be willing to hear some disappointing news,” she says, because if your political style doesn’t match your company’s, it’s an uphill battle unless you adjust. “Be willing to make changes, gradual or subtle ones, if that’s what’s required in your organization.”

Understand how your organization works. “You need to know where your organization is on a continuum from minimally political to pathologically political,” she says. “What’s the general climate? Does it support the advancement of people of all ages and stages, or is it particularly difficult for women?” If it’s a hostile environment, you can certainly try to adapt, or stay and fight, but you have to be aware of the consequences. “You can change the system, often with great pain, but it’s much better if you can find a political culture where you’re capable of thriving with some degree of stretching, but not changing yourself fundamentally.”

Learn from the best. It’s great if you have a mentor who can help steer you through the shoals of office politics. But even if you don’t, you can still get much of the information you need simply by watching. “Every day should be a research project,” says Reardon. “Observe the people that seem to be doing very well and learn what sets them apart. Be in meetings where they’re demonstrating what it takes. People aren’t terribly good about articulating what they do well politically, so you have to watch them.”

Focus on what matters. “Being a good team player is a good way to exhaust yourself and waste valuable time,” she says. Occasionally, of course, you’ll need to accept a less-than-desirable project – but don’t make it a habit, as those people-pleasing tendencies distract you from accomplishing the most valuable tasks (the ones you’re measured on). “They’ll say, ‘We can rely on her but she’s not a leader; she doesn’t seem to use her time well.’ You need to observe who’s getting promoted and for what reasons.” Focus on those things, and you’re far more likely to thrive.

Who needs to know about what you’re doing? “There are times when letting people know what you’ve accomplished is important,” says Reardon – a process that may be especially difficult for women, who have been socialized to be modest. But it has to be done, or you risk being invisible to everyone outside your direct chain of command. “At the end of the year, if that’s how it’s done in your organization, share what’s been accomplished with your leadership. When you’re invited to talk about your work, those occasions must be used effectively.  So be ready.”

Reardon’s primary goal in Shadow Campus is telling a page-turning story. And she certainly does that.  But there is a side benefit for readers who’d like to sharpen their own political skills. “With fiction, you’re learning through story,” she says. “It shows the reader how political machinations actually look and that’s a rare opportunity.  Anybody who reads this book can’t help but learn how behind-the-scenes politics operate.”

This post originally appeared on Forbes.com.

Dorie Clark is a marketing strategist who teaches at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She is the author of Reinventing You and Stand Out, and you can receive her free Stand Out Self-Assessment Workbook.