Do any of these situations resonate with you, particularly during critical stages of the succession planning process? 

• You feel pulled and pushed in multiple directions. 

• Different stakeholders highly question and scrutinize your work. 

• You are the target of put-downs in meetings regardless of the issue or situation. 

• You become very popular and casual acquaintances seem closer for no apparent reason. 

• Someone is asking too many questions trying to get information from you. 

• An issue that had been settled for a long time is under discussion again. 

• Someone does something for you, evidently expecting you to return the favor. 

Sound familiar? Face it: You will have to deal with office politics in succession planning. We all know that office politics exist—succession planning is not an exception—yet no one likes to talk about them openly. Most people prefer to ignore such politics, thinking that they will go away or that someone else will take care of any issues.

Do worry that you’re not prepared to handle office politics? We’ll share a secret with you: No one ever feels completely ready to handle it. But they are complex, serious situations that deserve your attention because every step may affect someone’s career—including yours. Fortunately, we can provide some insights on what you need to know to effectively handle office politics, taking it one step at a time. 

Let’s review this example of office politics in succession planning. 

Tom and Sarah meet in the hallway: 

Tom: “Do you know if they already chose who is going to be in the succession plan?” 

Sarah: “I heard that they picked the usual suspects. My boss always chooses Julie. That’s why I don’t believe in succession planning anymore.” 

Tom: “I don’t think that choosing Julie is such a bad idea.” 

Sarah: “Well, after all, our bosses are in their early 40s and they are not showing signs of going anywhere any time soon.” Sarah leaves and runs into Diane on her way to her office. They agree to have lunch that day. 

During lunch: 

Sarah: “I ran into Tom and he already knows that they are making the succession plan and that Julie is going to be in it.” 

Diane: “Julie?” 

Sarah: “I talked to a couple of colleagues already, and we all feel the same. We are not going to support that initiative.” 

All of us have faced similar situations. What are you going to do? 

To handle office politics successfully, you need first to keep in mind that most people, like Sarah, are only interested in the succession plan’s impact on their careers. Therefore, before deciding whether to rush to address the issue or wait, you should step back and look at the business as it stands now, beyond formal titles and reporting relations, understanding informal networks and influence spans.

Ask yourself these two questions: Is this an attack on succession planning, a candidate, a manager, or the succession planning committee? How does what is happening affect the succession plan’s brand? The answers will guide the scope of your actions. If, for instance, the attack is on an individual candidate, it would be wiser to address the issue directly with the antagonists. If, on the other hand, it is an attack on succession planning that will have an impact on the plan’s brand, you may need to design a strategy to deal with the situation.

Regardless of the scope of your actions, to handle office politics in succession planning, you must trust yourself and have courage: 

• Pay immediate attention to what is happening and gather information from different sources. 

• Think about handling office politics in succession planning as an ongoing process that goes beyond the talent review season. 

• Establish solid, supportive, and long-term connections and relationships with stakeholders at different levels of the business. You don’t know who will be where tomorrow. 

• Maintain open, honest, transparent, and assertive communication with people throughout the business. Your credibility depends on this. 

• Know what to say, when to say it, and where to say it. Assume that everything you say will be disclosed, so keep conversations focused on the business’s perspective. 

• Assess the candidate for the position throughout the selection process and justify your decisions, eliminating the possibility of people thinking you’re playing favorites. 

• Focus on solutions instead of on differences of opinion, thus staying away from power struggles. 

• Address issues directly with whoever is involved or go through the appropriate channels. 

 Your success will benefit you in several ways:

• Give you credibility and visibility, positioning you as someone who can handle difficult situations and conflicts. 

• Create an image of you as a good listener and someone who plays by the rules. 

• Demonstrate that you are not someone interested in petty fights, instead preferring to negotiate and mediate. Can you manage office politics so that the succession planning initiative is well-positioned and unscathed? What have you done to handle office politics in succession planning?

Get tools and practical tips that will help you identify a solid succession plan at the ATD Succession Planning virtual workshop this December.