You Can Be Nonpartisan But Never Apolitical — Surviving Politics at Work

What is workplace politics?

Workplace politics is a process by which people jockey for position and influence inside an organization. It is played out in a multivariable system, making it dynamic and hard to predict. It is the behaviours of individuals and groups of individuals that express their ambition, their struggle for power, their unique personal characteristics, and their personal challenges in the context of work and their careers.

Why should we be concerned about workplace politics?

Negative politics can poison the well. Highly political workplaces are very often toxic and dysfunctional impacting the work and homelives of people involved. Some workplaces have all the characteristics of a Netflix political drama. With plot twists and turns, backstabbing, gossiping and worse.

While negative politics can’t be completely avoided, you can develop skills and strategies to manage political situations. The first and best strategy is to distance yourself from the politics. Then you need to recognize the roles you play in the political drama, observe the behaviours of others, survey the landscape — recognize patterns, and mindfully respond to situations as they unfold — it’s that simple.

Healthy and Toxic Workplaces

Healthy workplaces support collaboration, respectful and assertive communications. They are environments that foster personal and professional development and offer clear vision and mandate.

Characteristics of hyper-political and toxic workplaces include rigid bureaucratic environments, uncertainty and change, a lack of vision, hyper competitiveness, and a lack of respect.

How do we recognize negative politics in the workplace?

The answer is simple: look for the drama. The negative politician thrives on drama, the kind of drama that makes others scratch their heads in confusion and even begin to wonder if they are going crazy. The drama is often contagious. If your workplace resembles a soap opera you’ve got problems.

Ignore workplace politics at your peril. You don’t need to throw yourself in the middle of the unfolding drama at work, but don’t look away. The best advice I can give you regarding surviving workplace drama is, watch for it. If you can sit back and watch the show, don’t take up a starring role.

While you will want to develop vigilance and be on the watch for backbiting and gossiping, you will also want to observe the cooperation, insight, and influence of positive politics at work. Learn to observe and recognize politics — positive and negative. You can be nonpartisan, but never apolitical.

There are recurring patterns of that underpin workplace drama. They include conflict, behaviours and self-awareness.

Let’s survey the political landscape

The political landscape is made up of organizational structures, cultural capital, clout*, and other individuals and groups of individuals interacting within that setting.

• Clout is defined as influence or power, especially in politics or business. How do we identify clout? If you want to identify who has clout, don’t look at the org chart. Watch behaviours. Pay more attention to relationships and interactions than the org chart. People who have clout are respected and generally well liked. Who has clout in your workplace?

Let’s start with the formal structures: org chart, mandates, and mission. These are processes, practices, and procedures, the brick and mortar of the company (or the virtual space), and the nature of the business that underpins the organization. The formal structures set the tone. They determine how the organization views itself within an industry, sector, marketplace, or within. These structures influence the leadership style of the enterprise. When surveying the landscape, particularly the formal structures, we want to know where we fit.

When I think of the difference between formal and informal structures, I think of a vine creeping up into a lattice work in a garden. The lattice is the formal structure that gives shape and direction to the organization. The vine is the organic informal structure that grows around and fills in the lattice. The vine entangles itself on this structure, blossoming out into an organic, unique culture that is reflective of the unique individuals within that environment.

Further Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_politics

https://culturallearningalliance.org.uk/what-is-cultural-capital/