Workplace Politics: How to win it?

Workplace politics – a taboo word for some of us. Some may ask: Does Workplace politics even exist in the corporate sector? The fundamental question here is that can we intelligently avoid it? These are a million-dollar questions. We may have negative feelings about it. We may think we’re taking the high road by ignoring it. However, our lack of attention to what’s happening at the workplace can be extremely dangerous, especially when we have ambitious colleagues working in a competitive environment.

Why professionals play Workplace Politics? 

While doing research on the subject, we approached several professionals – both men and women, young and middle aged. The first and foremost reason identified by them was that it emerges from the very top and drills down to the lower cadres in the organisations. Some incompetent top and middle management team members who feel insecure and threatened (for variety of reasons), get into politics by way of keeping an eye on their peers and employees and their activities at work. That is where the workplace politics starts. They also described workplace politics as dirty, manipulative, and evil. They expressed their anger, frustration, and betrayal when professionals who spent more time schmoozing than working, would rise through the ranks faster than they deserved. Yet, they viewed office politics as a major waste of time, and they were hesitant to engage in any way. It’s a pervasive thing at the workplace. 

If we go deeper, workplace politics is nothing more than but the differences between people at work; differences in opinions, conflicts of interests are often manifested as workplace politics. It all goes down to human communications and relationships. So, there is no need to be afraid of workplace politics. 

Believe it or not, professionals are those who have mastered the art of winning in workplace politics. Below are 5 tips to help you win at the workplace:

1. You Always Have a Choice

The most common reactions to politics at work are either  fight or flight, stay or run away. It’s normal human reaction for survival in the wild, back in the pre-historic days when human race was still hunter-gatherer. In the corporate work environment of the 21st century, it takes more than just instinctive reactions to win in workplace politics. Instinctive fight reactions will only cause more resistance to whatever you are trying to achieve; while instinctive flight reactions only label you as a pushover that people can easily take for granted. Neither options are appealing for healthy career growth.

Winning requires you to consciously choose your reactions to the situation. Recognise that no matter how bad the circumstances, you have a choice in choosing how you feel and react. So, how do you choose? 

2. Look at the Bigger Picture 

When conflicts occur, it’s very easy to get sucked into tunnel-vision and focus on immediate differences. That’s a self-defeating approach. Chances are, you’ll only invite more resistance by focusing on differences in people’s positions or opinions.

The way to mitigate this without looking like you’re fighting to emerge as a winner in this conflict is to focus on the business objectives. In the light of what’s best for the business, discuss the pros and cons of each option. Eventually, everyone wants the business to be successful; if the business doesn’t win, then nobody wins in the organization.

It’s much easier for one to eat the humble pie and back off when they realize the chosen approach is best for the business. By learning to steer the discussion in this direction, you will learn to disengage and maintain a distance from petty differences and position yourself as someone who is interested in getting things done. Your boss will also come to appreciate you as someone who is mature, strategic and can be entrusted with bigger responsibilities.

3. Focus on Your Circle of Influence

There are times when we have a very little control over on some situations @work. It’s not uncommon to put a blame on corporate policies, client demands or boss’s never-ending wish lists which affects your personal interests. Gossiping and complaining are common responses to these events that we cannot control. But think about it, other than that short-term emotional outlet, what tangible results do gossiping really accomplish? In most instances, none.

Instead of feeling victimized and angry about the situation, focus on the things that you can do to influence the situation — your circle of influence. This is a very empowering technique to overcome the feeling of helplessness. It removes the victimized feeling and also allows others to see you as someone who knows how to operate within the given constraints.

You may not be able to change or decide on the eventual outcome but, you can walk away knowing that you have done the best within the given circumstances. Constraints are all around in the workplace; with this approach, your boss will also come to appreciate you as someone who is understanding and positive.

4. Try to Stay Impartial 

There are situations when you may find yourself stuck in between two power figures who are at odds with each other. You find yourself being thrown around while they try to outwit each other and defend their own position; all at the expense of you getting the job done. You can’t get them to agree on a common decision for a project, and neither of them want to take ownership of issues; they’re too afraid they’ll get stabbed in the back for any mishaps.

In cases like this, focus on the business objectives and don’t take side with either of them – even if you like one better than the other. Place them on a common communication platform and ensure open communications among all parties, so that no one can claim “I didn’t say that”.

By not taking sides, you’ll help to direct conflict resolution in an objective manner. You’ll also build trust with both parties. That’ll help to keep the engagements constructive and focus on business objectives.

5. Win-Win Situation 

As mentioned upfront, political conflicts happen because of conflicting interests. Perhaps due to our schooling, we are taught that to win, someone else needs to lose. Conversely, we are afraid to let someone else win, because it implies losing for us. In business and work, that doesn’t have to be the case.

Learn to think in terms of how can we both win out of this situation? This requires that you first understand the other party’s perspective and what’s in it for him.

Next, understand what’s in it for you. Strive to seek out a resolution that is acceptable and beneficial to both parties. Doing this will ensure that everyone truly commit to the agreed resolution and will not pay only lip-service to it.

People simply don’t like to lose. You may get away with win-lose tactics once or twice but very soon, you’ll find yourself without allies in the workplace.

Thinking win-win is an enduring strategy that builds allies and help you win in the long term.

Ending Note

I learned my lesson about the importance of office politics in the beginning of my career. In nutshell, I didn’t pay attention to what was going on in my company. I avoided workplace politics and was therefore totally ignorant about how the decisions are made sometimes at the smoke corners and coffee stations. And what’s worse, I stayed out in the field and failed to nurture important relationships with the people in corporate who had power and influence over my career.

It was a difficult lesson to learn, but a critical one for anyone with ambition. Avoiding workplace politics can sabotage your career. But the reality is that it takes both great performance and political savvy to get ahead, especially in a complex competitive workplace.

Learn how sometimes smaller things in our lives make huge impact and you can take some learnings on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and on our official website. Also follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Medium, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder, Managing Director and Principal Consultant at Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, At Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.