Politics vs. politics

A lot of people are averse to politics in the workplace. I’ve had many conversations with people that just had a new role or promotion and they feel at a crossroads about if they should be not thinking politically. 

Often, this doesn’t sit well with them, as they have a strong sense that the work that they do should be enough to get ahead, and they feel that politics is bad.

Let’s be up front. The work that you do should be enough. In many companies it is, as the impact that you make is obvious and overt.

Unfortunately, the bigger companies get, the more likely it is that you need to be deliberate about promoting yourself and your team. It’s the simple fact that the decision makers are naturally going to be more and more detached from the day to day work, and aren’t going to have their finger on the pulse of everything that is going on.

You equally need to be mindful when people that understand your role, your contribution, and your history leave the company. One of my biggest mistakes in my career was not realizing when a champion for me had left, that the replacement wouldn’t see the same value in the function. This resulted in me and my team being left behind and undervalued.

There is small-p-politics and big-P-Politics. Big-P-Politics is what people are normally averse to. This is zero-sum thinking like people actively campaigning to take responsibility from others, plotting to have people removed, and otherwise trying to get ahead of others by any means necessary. There are whole coaches on LinkedIn and Instagram that focus on this. If that’s for you, that’s fine. I’ve met people that thrive in that environment.

Small-p-politics is different. That is making sure that people know what you are doing, how you are delivering, and what you need. If you are new to this, and nervous, be overt about it. Ask peers and superiors for help. Say that you are new in the role, and could they find time for a coffee to talk through their view of your function, and how you can work together.

Insist on a regular 1-on-1s with your boss’s boss. If your peers are getting these, but you are not, raise this.    

Ask for options to present what you are doing to other teams and even the whole company. There is an old adage that you shouldn’t worry about what other people think, as they aren’t paying anywhere near as much attention to you as you think. 

There is a flipside to this. Other people aren’t paying anywhere near as much attention to you as you think, so if they need to be, you need to take action.

A final point from my experience… All the effort that people are putting into Big-P-Politics is usually focused on how can I deliver what is best for me, not how can the company deliver value for the customer. Eventually that wasted effort and capacity catches up with a company. If that environment is for you that’s fine, but it may not be for long, and you may find yourself on the chopping block through no fault of your own. There is no shame in admitting it’s not the environment for you.