Whether or not one enjoys participating in office politics, they are an unavoidable aspect of work. However, they do not have to be negative. When responsibly managed, the flow of information, power, and influence within the workplace can be utilised for personal and collective benefit. The following examples show how this can be achieved:
- Maintaining a Positive Outlook: While everyone has bad days, directors, team leaders, and staff who feel demotivated and unhappy are not well-received. Working excessive hours can be mentally and physically exhausting, but complaining in a non-constructive way can be distracting to others. By keeping a cheerful disposition, individuals can increase their likeability and find collaborating easier with colleagues.
- Developing Soft Skills: Soft skills are essentially nuanced social skills. They encompass the ability to listen well, operate effectively as a collaborator, and communicate healthily, which are crucial skills in the workplace. Enhancing one's emotional intelligence and other people's skills allows colleagues to navigate office politics more easily.
- Building Positive Work Relationships: Coping with corporate politics becomes easier when individuals establish solid and positive relationships with their colleagues. Loyalty and friendship can significantly contribute to success. In social politics, creating a support network that helps oneself and others ensures that social connections can be relied on during challenging times.
- Speaking With Confidence: Showing bravery and making one's voice heard can be challenging. However, the skill to stand up for oneself and others when faced with unfair treatment is extremely valuable. Speaking up highlights the strength and spirit of conviction that discourages office bullies from targeting colleagues.
- Understanding and Building Formal and Informal Networks: Business politics can be divided into two main network types: formal and informal. The formal network encompasses job titles and official positions of authority, such as directors, team leaders, or interns. On the other hand, the informal network refers to the subtle yet influential positions of power that colleagues may hold behind the scenes. Gaining an understanding of both networks is crucial for effectively navigating each one.
- Maintaining Professional Relationships: While being friendly with colleagues to foster a sense of belonging, it is equally vital to be professional. Striking a balance between being sociable and oversharing personal information is critical. Revealing too much about oneself may leave individuals vulnerable to others potentially using it against them. Therefore, supporting a friendly yet professional stance is advisable, setting clear boundaries to prevent colleagues from taking advantage.
One should strive to understand the power dynamics within their organisation and learn how to navigate them positively. By comprehending the political landscape, individuals can thrive and find it easier to succeed by utilising their knowledge to support organisational goals and their team.
Regrettably, many authoritative figures exploit their positions to bully or manipulate others, resulting in a toxic workplace dynamic. Learning to find and manage negative office politics is crucial to cultivating a stronger workplace position and supporting others when needed. The following steps can assist organisations in dealing with detrimental office politics:
- A Positive Organisational Culture: A positive organisational culture is the foundation for a functional and content workplace. The development of such a culture nurtures work motivation and fosters healthy colleague engagement. Additionally, it instils pride and value in one's role within the organisation. Organisations can create a positive culture by proactively expecting and addressing colleagues' needs and supplying equal growth opportunities. Organisations promote good office politics by cultivating a positive work environment while safeguarding vulnerable colleagues from hostile intentions.
- Encouragement of Open Positive Communication: Promoting positive and open communication is crucial for supporting healthy business politics. The clarity in communication ensures that colleagues feel treated fairly and with respect. Healthy communication reduces the likelihood of conflicts arising by diminishing the potential for spreading misinformation. Furthermore, effective communication helps to build trust, fostering positive social networks and strong colleague relations.
- Focus on Organisational Goals: Cooperation and teamwork play a significant role in healthy corporate politics. Emphasising the promotion of team activities and generating excitement about an organisation's goals helps to end toxic dynamics and boost workplace morale simultaneously. While it is crucial to address immediate concerns, encouraging colleagues to look beyond the present ignites team spirit and reduces the likelihood of unnecessary conflicts.
- Assess an Organisation's Structure: An organisation's structure should be assessed regularly to ensure its effectiveness. Organisations may only sometimes be aware of an unhealthy hierarchy that can make colleagues feel ignored and controlled. Whether the workplace structure is top-down or bottom-up, conducting an organisational structure assessment is crucial. With changes in management approaches due to the arrival and departure of directors, team leaders and staff, an organisational structure assessment can lead to necessary adjustments in how an organisation works.
- Reward The Right People: Rewarding colleagues without involving favourites is essential. When colleagues feel overlooked, jealousy can arise, leading to discontent. Incentivising productivity through rewards is a valuable strategy. However, those with the power to distribute recognition must ensure that personal agendas or emotions do not influence their judgment. Directors and team leaders should strive to distribute praise as evenly as possible among colleagues, support a sense of fairness, and show specific criteria for when rewards are given.
Directors and team leaders who use politicism to influence the distribution of resources or status to further their means within an organisation will always be outed in the long run, as they unfailingly and arrogantly believe they are invincible to the rules of natural justice. The only regret is that, in some cases, it takes longer for an organisation to rid itself of such people than it should. In all cases, it is that arrogance that always trips them up.
Regretfully, directors and team leaders who choose to use politics to increase the power of their relationships with others to influence the distribution of resources or status for their gain often need to remember that their colleagues can easily see and understand their actions. It is even more regrettable that organisations fail to rid themselves of such people, as they lack the political will or ability to take the appropriate actions.
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