Leveraging Office Politics for Good

“Office politics” is usually a pejorative term, and uttered with a scowl. Co-workers backstabbing each other to get ahead, workers bowing to the out-of-touch manager, and all manner of unsavory behaviors are usually lumped into this catch-all phrase. But should office politics be thought of strictly as a negative, or can it be embraced as a force for good? At the end of the day, office politics means nothing more than adapting behavior for the best possible outcome of a particular workplace situation. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that; but if it's to be leveraged for the overall good, some basic facts about human behavior must be understood. First, people are not logical and rational, no matter how much they might claim to be. Because of this, office politics do not abide by inherently rational processes. Second, relationships are the ultimate goal of playing office politics; by fostering relationships, people will gain influence and be able to find win-win situations. It’s also important to understand people work differently, and what works for one person won’t necessarily work for another. Finally, learning to pick your battles is critical; not every hill is worth dying on.