I was thinking about the reasons that office politics has such a bad reputation. They include:
- People use it to polish their own apple.
- People use it to gang up on other people and ideas.
- People use it to get their own way.
- People use it to gain benefits that are out of proportion to what you think they deserve. But what is “it”?
Looking deeply at office politics, it seems to be:
- Influencing relationships
- Seizing opportunities
- Communicating in a way that the receiver understands and appreciates
For the purpose of moving an agenda forward.
These all sound like good things. So what is the problem?
When these good techniques are used by people to further a personal agenda, it is referred to as Office Politics. A personal agenda could include a promotion, a prime assignment, a better cubicle, or to torpedo a co-worker. This use is often accompanied by lying, telling half truths, misrepresentation of facts or playing to a power person’s weakness (being a yes-person), etc. Office politics in this context sows discord. It creates negative emotions, e.g. anger, disgust, disappointment, mistrust and more. I agree that anything that can cause this much disharmony in an organization should be viewed in a negative light.
When you use these same techniques to move an agenda forward, and that agenda is to improve the organization, this is a good thing! This is how progress is made in an organization. Influencing relationships, seizing opportunities to tell a story and communicating effectively are how new product ideas are approved, how process changes are introduced, etc. These efforts are using the same techniques but they should not be tarred with the same brush as “Office Politics”.
There are a lot of articles on the web that tell you how to win at Office Politics. However, I do not want you to go through life tediously explaining that you use office politics, but the GOOD kind. I think that we need a new term to describe positive Office Politics. I’m looking for a term that when you say it people react with understanding and enthusiasm. I would like the new term to generate the same intensity of emotion as the negative energy associated with Office Politics.
What suggestions do you have for a new term for positive office politics?
Leave your suggestion below.
