How Office Politics Corrupt the Search for High-Potential Employees

Politics is a dirty word. But office politics are unavoidable; as Aristotle noted, “man is by nature a political animal.” Whether you participate in them or not, politics have a big influence on what happens to you, your projects, and your team, so it’s hard to be indifferent to them.

To borrow from the political scientist, Harold Laswell, office politics can be understood as the unwritten rules that determine who gets what, when, and how — a promotion, a budget for a project, a say in the boss’s decisions — and who doesn’t. This is why we dislike politics so much: when our fate depends on unwritten rules — especially when they conflict with official, stated rules and make the system seem rigged or at least hypocritical — things are bound to seem arbitrary and unfair.

Unsurprisingly, research shows that when employees perceive their workplace as more political, they are less engaged, less productive, and more likely to quit. And yet, a more effective way of dealing with office politics is to engage in them — playing the game, instead of complaining about it. Fortunately, not all politics are bad, and there’s a way to play the game without selling your soul.

Much of what we mean by corporate “culture” provides clues for understanding office politics. Culture is the tapestry of taken-for-granted assumptions, values, beliefs, norms, and habits that determine “the way we do things around here.” Some aspects of culture are desirable traits that organizations are proud to proclaim (“We are a high performance organization.” “We stand for diversity and inclusion.”). Others are not (“We are conflict avoidant.”). The term “politics” is used to describe certain aspects of this dark side of culture. Learning to decode, and speak, this secret language of organizations is pivotal to your career survival and to becoming a major player at work.

So what is the difference between good and bad politics?

Bad politics are pretty easy to identify. They include the wrangling, maneuvering, sucking up, backstabbing, and rumor mongering people use to advance themselves at the expense of other people or the organization. Bad politics are, at the heart, about promoting oneself by any means necessary. And really bad politics are about being sneaky, perhaps even Machiavellian or immoral, to intentionally harm someone else for personal gain.

Good politics, on the other hand, involve advancing one’s interests but not to the neglect of other people’s rights or the organization’s legitimate interests. Good politics include acceptable ways of getting recognition for your contributions, having your ideas taken seriously, and influencing what other people think and what decisions get made. They may also involve gossip about selfish, lazy, or untrustworthy coworkers who undermine the greater good. As long as it also serves a higher purpose, there is nothing wrong with advancing your own interests, too. Common phrases for playing good politics include being savvy, well-networked, or street smart, socializing ideas, and managing stakeholders.

Social science has a lot to say about practicing good politics. Research by Gerald Ferris and colleagues indicates that political skills can be broken down into four dimensions:

• Social astuteness: the ability to read other people and the self-awareness to understand how they see you. Most people think of self-awareness as introspection, but its essence is actually other-awareness; that is, knowing how other people see you and how your behavior impacts them.
• Interpersonal influence: a convincing ability to affect how and what other people think. This involves, first, understanding them and their preferences and agendas, and then personalizing your message to appeal to their cause.
• Networking ability: the capacity to form mutually beneficial relationships with a wide range of diverse people. Cynics might say that there is only a one-letter difference between networking and not-working, but having a significant influence often requires a coalition of support. And as the old saying goes, “contacts mean contracts.”
• Apparent sincerity: seeming to be honest, open, and forthright. It is not enough to just be honest; sincerity is in the eye of the beholder. How honest you think you are is far less important than how honest other people think you are.

An accumulation of research shows that high standing on these dimensions enhances job performance, influence, leadership, and advancement. What’s more, these political skills affect your career independent of your personality and intelligence. On the one hand, political skill can compensate for being less outgoing or not being the smartest person in the room. On the other hand, a deficit of political skill can derail otherwise intelligent, honest, and hard-working people.

These political skills also spell the difference between an overbearing boss and one who is appreciated for being clear about expectations and direct with feedback. One study found that managers who were less politically savvy had a disengaging impact on employees when they told them what to do and provided them with feedback on their performance. In contrast, employees reporting to more politically skilled managers saw these same behaviors in a much more favorable light. In short, it’s not just what you do as a manager, but how you do it — and the politically astute are better able to manage without coming across as bossy or dictatorial.

The key to appearing influential rather than sly, selfish, or manipulative is the apparent sincerity component of political skill. Think Eddie Haskell from the classic TV series, Leave It to Beaver, whose smarmy attempts at ingratiation with parents fooled no one. People will have more trust and confidence in you and will be more willing to consider your ideas to the extent that they do not sense a hidden agenda. And this gets back to the main difference between good and bad politics.

Whether washing your hands of politics in high-minded purity or wringing your hands in disgust, choosing not to play the political game at work is not only naïve, but also puts you at a big disadvantage. To paraphrase Plato, the risk of refusing to participate in politics is that the big decisions that affect you wind up being made by those with less experience, less insight, and fewer honorable intentions. There is a way to use the unspoken rules to contribute to the greater good, advance your interests, and maintain your honor and dignity.