Politics in organizations is a fact we all have to live with. This article offers insights into organizational politics and its inevitability in the workplace.
The term political savvy is very much a part of the lexicon of corporate-speak. I first read about it in Daniel Goleman's Working with Emotional Intelligence and later, in Political Savvy: Systematic Approaches to Leadership Behind-the-Scenes by Joel DeLuca. He uses the expression `political savvy' to describe a smart and ethical approach to mastering and managing organizational politics. Today, more than ever before, it is seen as a skill worth cultivating if one wants to get ahead in one's career. Crawley A Parris, in his book Mastering Executive Arts and Skills, refers to the same concept when he advises to play it smart with executive know-how. The message is `use politics with ethics.' "You want to build your reputation in the organization as a fair and decent player," says DeLuca, while Karen Ginsburg Wood, author of Don't Sabotage Your Success! Make Office Politics Work, expresses it thus: "The key to a successful career is combining politics with good work."
Politics in organizations is a fact we all have to live with-from the ostensibly harmless gossip in the corridor to the power games of the boardroom. Those who learn how to use it to their advantage are the ones who get ahead. |
