Navigating Politics at Work: 7 Warning Signs Managers Need Help

Navigating Politics at Work is Not Going Away
Navigating politics at work is not something that leaders, managers or employees can ignore if they want to influence others, advance their careers, and make an impact.  This is especially true if their is any:

• Strategic ambiguity
• Cultural misalignment
• Gap in leadership capability

A lack of clarity about what matters most opens the door for potentially toxic workplace politics and undermines what is required to build a high performance culture.

How to “Play the Game”
While most employees report a strong preference to avoid politics at work, some political skills at work are required to thrive in almost every organization.  Most ambitious employees know that navigating politics at work is required to advance their career and influence others in a way that fits cultural expectations, team norms, and corporate values.  In other words, being “political at work” does not have to be unethical, manipulative, or unproductive — strategic influence can be done integrity and a positive impact.

• Those Successfully Navigating Politics at Work
  We know from people manager assessment data that those who know how to play the corporate game with integrity typically get more done and are more appreciated for their ability to effectively influence others and astutely navigate people, power, issues, and agendas.

• Those Struggling to Navigate Politics at Work
  Conversely, project postmortem data tells us that those not adept at maneuvering with integrity within the political landscape at work, typically struggle to perform at work or move up the corporate ladder.

Political Savvy Skills are Lacking
Unfortunately, when we assess organizational culture or review data from our Corporate Leadership and Management Development Programs, we consistently find one area lacking — the ability to effectively navigate politics at work.

7 Warning Signs that You Need to Be Better at Navigating Politics at Work

Ask any executive — each business day, a corporate version of “survival of the fittest” is played out. Power plays, turf battles, deception, and cultural sabotage block individuals’ career progress and threaten companies’ resources and results.

As a leader, if you are observing any of the following warning signs at your organization, you are witnessing typical “closed shop” behavior telling you that Workplace Politics should be part of your executive and leadership development programs.

1. Blind Spots
   Executives or upper management have a blind spot or hands-off approach to overly political leaders or situations.
2. Consolidation of Power
   Leaders consolidate power by hurting the careers of direct reports, peers, or consultants who challenge them.
3. Limited Access
   Leaders guard access to people in their organization and tell direct reports to not communicate or share information with specific other parts of the company.
4. Circle of Trust
   When people outside of the team ask for information from direct reports, they’re uncomfortable and guarded. Direct reports can get in trouble for being seen talking to someone the leader doesn’t like or trust.
5. Micromanagement
   Direct reports often say, “I need to check with my manager” before they share information, make decisions, involve others, or take action.
6. “Yes Men”
   Team meetings lack candor or real debate, and people learn not to challenge the leader.
7. Favoritism
   Clear, personal favorites exist on the team.

The Bottom Line
If you are seeing any of these seven warning signs, your organization has a political capability gap that is already eroding performance or will do so soon. When people lack the skills to navigate workplace politics with integrity, culture weakens, trust frays, and execution slows. Over time, this makes it harder to attract, develop, engage, and retain the talent required to deliver on your business strategy.

To learn more about equipping managers and leaders to better navigate politics at work, download, How to Build the Competency of Organizational Savvy

by Tristam Brown: CEO

Tristam Brown is an executive business consultant and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience helping organizations accelerate performance, build high-impact teams, and turn strategy into execution. As CEO of LSA Global, he works with leaders to get and stay aligned™ through research-backed strategy, culture, and talent solutions that produce measurable, business-critical results. See full bio.