Identify political players - Deepstash
Navigate Office Politics

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How to build positive relationships with colleagues and superiors

How to navigate office politics without compromising your values

How to handle conflicts and difficult situations in the workplace

Navigate Office Politics

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Identify political players

We all start out naively assuming that all business leaders make decisions based wholly on fact and merit. 

The first challenge is to develop your "political sensitivity"--observe and ask questions about how things are done in your business, where the power bases are, and who might have hidden agendas.

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Work the network of key people on decisions

Just as you do your homework on the facts, it pays to do your homework by visiting the players in a given situation.

Effective management is the process of harmonizing individual interests with the goals of all business stakeholders.

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Identify the norms for action

Focus your powers of persuasion on the right people and the right issues.

Politically insensitive business people often try to steam-roll others with emotion, a barrage of facts, or a claim of high-level support.

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Align with decision-makers

Before coming and launching a fully-fledged proposal at a committee or in a memorandum, it's smart to test opinion and find out how key people will react.

This enables you to anticipate counter-arguments and update your proposal to answer objections and t...

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Stand firm

When your integrity and values are at stake, do not fold. 

There are obviously occasions when a subtle or indirect appeal, rather than a direct attack will pay bigger dividends in highly-charged political situations.

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882 reads

Keep political players comfortable

Every individual and leader has their comfort zone--behaviors, values, attitudes, fears, and drives that result in productive relationships. 

Actions outside these comfort zones will likely lead to feuds, hidden decisions, excessive arguing, counter-productive...

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Support others

... as often as you ask for support. If you are viewed as always demanding support, but never giving it, your effectiveness will be greatly reduced, even when you are right. 

Always communicate the win-win element in every decision.

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griq

TEAM = (T)ogether (E)veryone (A)chieves (M)ore

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Analyze the organization chart

Map the political power and influence in your organization, rather than people's rank or job title.

Ask yourself questions like, "Who are the real influencers?," "Who has authority but tends not to exercise it?," "Who is respected?," "Who champions or mentors others?," and...

Other Tips From Jordan Peterson For a Better Life

  • Consider that any hierarchy creates winners and losers. The winners are more likely to justify the hierarchy and the losers to criticize it.
  • Understand that hierarchy is inescapable. The pursuit of goals lends life meaning and the collective pursuit of goals produces hi...

Remote decision making

I asked several top managers from various industries what are the pros and cons of the remote decision-making process. The fact that they identified several disadvantages and talked more about each can be a sign that the process is neither optimal nor qualitative.

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