Healthy Organizational Politics

Unfortunately, when the word ‘politics’ is used the connotation is typically negative. And I am not even referring to politics associated with electing government officials. Politics exist in organizations because they are comprised of human beings who have various agenda including needs, goals and desires. Resources are finite and often of limited availability when required or more expensive than estimated.

Politics in an organization has to do with power. Power is the ability to affect change. Who gets what, when and how? This change can range from seemingly minor issues like who gets the prime office location to determining the strategic future of the company. How change is influenced and how one is affected may depend on one’s understanding of and use of organizational politics.

When change is implemented someone is bound to be more satisfied than another. Keeping everyone happy all the time is a pipe dream but you can work to maximize the opportunity to create and foster satisfaction. This week, I was asked to participate in a panel at the University of Pennsylvania in a class in the graduate program of Organizational Dynamics. Professor John Eldred, who teaches the course; “Mastering Organizational Politics and Power,” asked us panelists to address the question, “What should leaders do to encourage healthy politics in an organization?” In thinking about this question I considered the obvious negative response. Don’t do the things that support unhealthy politics. What are some of those points?

Here are some thoughts for your consideration. If you do these things there’s a good chance you will be dealing with the unhealthy and ugly politics that can cause us much grief and set an organization to spin in a downward spiral: Lose sight of your mission and goals. If you get off track, the confusion will dissipate your efforts due to lack of alignment and unity of purpose. Resources will be squandered and chances are good that the clients will not be served properly.

• Don’t adapt for changes in your corporate lifecycle stage. Based on age of the company and the current state of the strategic plan implementation, organizations go through various normal and predicable changes. You can be in a healthy growth stage or in a stagnant, declining period, to name just two. There will be different skills required of leadership in either guiding toward success or revamping major components. Recognize what’s required of your current stage so as a leader you can re-analyze roles and individual performance, and direct resources appropriately.
• Limit feedback from clients, vendors and associates. If you are only listening to your own council or the same close advisors and things are not going as well as you would like then think about changing the input. Be a student. Learn all you can, benchmark inside and outside your industry and then select the appropriate tools to further your goals. Avoid recognition that people, including yourself, operate form various frameworks. I have written previously in this column of the work of Fisher and Torbert. If you are dealing with a technician type, for example, don’t expect they will have a good grasp of strategic planning or can appreciate the benefits. This may be true no matter how valuable your overall plan may be. They just don’t get it. Don’t try to push the round peg. You will be frustrated and waste energy. But they can fix machines, computers and direct engineering projects very well.
• Assume that foreigners think and act like Americans and that we share the same values and communication styles. Be aware of how others think and operate. They are not necessarily wrong, just different. Some cultures don’t treat women fairly. I have a number of key women managers in my company. A vendor from Lebanon thought he could treat them like he did in the old country. That was unacceptable and I had to let him know that if he didn’t change his behavior we would cease our business together. Be careful in your communication when English is someone’s second language. They may try to be polite and signal agreement to a point you are making but be sure to test their understanding. There are thirty-two ways to say ‘yes’ in Japanese and no ways to say ‘no.’ A little patience helps.
• Reduce consideration of other’s motivation. The only successful long term agreements are those where both sides win. This classic win-win approach is from Bill Ury of the Harvard Negotiation Project and his book; “Getting to Yes.” If you just consider your agenda and force the other side to comply, your deal will eventually fall apart. We learned this through history and the unequal peace made after WW I. The hard work in a negotiation is learning what’s important to the other side and determining how your needs and theirs can best be met. There are typically considerations you can offer that won’t cost money or cause your mission to be derailed. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get the perfect agreement. Often times the best contract may leave both sides a slight bit dissatisfied.

While on the panel, there were a total of twenty-one points I enumerated to the class. Any one of them can cause lots of grief and dissatisfaction. Be encouraged to know that there are usually answers to the challenges you face and most likely someone has encountered the same issue before. Dedicate some time to learning methods of understanding and increase your coping and leadership skills. Your time will be well spent. On a personal basis frustration and aggravation will be reduced. Further, by avoiding bad politics, you will be able to contribute more value to your organization which should result in benefits and increased satisfaction in your career.

Joseph Greco is president of Greco Apparel. Visit them on the web at www.grecoapparel.com