Office Politics - Surviving Guide!

Large or small, all organizations suffer from what most people elegantly call "Office Politics". I said suffer, because in my opinion this is one of the most dangerous and harmful viruses out there in the business world and it could eventually destroy the organization. Not to mention this is what makes or breaks your career. You can't avoid it, you can't ignore it, you just have to deal with it, like it or not! And there's no stopping to it. To my surprise throughout the years, the higher i went in my career, the more i had to deal with it. It's all about human behavior, the way we interact with each other especially when power and authority is involved. The higher you are, the bigger the ego. And if you add to the mix the fact that you are living in a country with over 170 nationalities (different cultures, different behaviors, different reactions, different values, etc), well, then you are face to face with real challenge.

So how does one navigate this complicated minefield of human interactions? I personally have a set of rules i live my office life by:

Step 1 - Don't assume things;

Step 2 - Don't take it personally

Step 3 - Make sure you have all the facts;

Step 4 - Not everything is about you;

Step 5 - Expect winning to be difficult;

Step 6 - To win, sometimes you have to lose;

Step 7 - Tomorrow is another day;

However, more often that i would like to admit it, it gets to me. And in these moments, it hits you really hard. There's no rule that can give you comfort, that can erase the frustration. You're an innocent bystander having an out-of-body experience, watching how one person annihilates your overall decision-making abilities, just because you have a different opinion than theirs on a subject that happens to be something you're an expert at. And as you watch this whole scene escalating in front of you, you start to question your own existence in that organization. And with twice the speed of light your brain starts a journey, fantasizing about the dramatic way you would leave, the way they would soon after realize what a huge mistake it was to let you go, how the whole company collapses because simply you are not there. But like i said, this is pure fantasy!

In reality, they will be just fine without you and wherever you go, you will deal with the same all over again. Because office politics are everywhere! Rise above it, do your job the best that you can. Sooner or later, facts and results will speak louder than office politics!