Abstract from the Book How to Win Office Politics- Gireesh Kumar Sharma
www.winofficepolitics.com

Politics is inevitable;
You can either play it or be a game.]

Political scientists have defined politics as the art of the possible. Employees often find coping with office politics to be a difficult task. Office Politics is all about doing things that will help us in growing up in the office – wherever we are. It is a deliberate and conscious plan to get the promotion, more money, more enjoyment and comfort at job. It is bypassing the normal promotion norms to climb up the corporate ladder. It is something that nobody teaches in university or in management schools or in corporate training room – but all play it.

Office politics is unavoidable: Although many people say that they are unaware of Office Politics and do not have any concern with it, however at the end of the day they find themselves being strangled by the Office Politics. You have only two options: be a victim of Office Politics or be an active player. For years I choose to be indifferent and kept becoming the scapegoat; finally become a dexterous office player. Nobody can be indifferent to office politics; at least Office Politics does not allow it. Office Politics control your promotion, salary and the benefits that follow thereafter and in totality it defines your career destiny.

Office politics is a behavioural change therapy: Office politics is nothing but a self therapy to change one’s behaviour. Most individual get defeated because of their wrong behaviour with other people in the office; this book will give you many new ideas and facts about the office environment and throw light on other’s behaviour. Once you are conscious about the game going on in office, and you start understanding it, you can start playing it in a better way. Instead of sitting in the stadium as a viewer, you can be a player.

Whether you like playing office politics or not, it is a part of the work reality. Your success in your workplace depends upon how skilfully you play it. The following are glimpses of policies, strategies and acts (which are more described in later chapters) that will help you win office politics:

1. Behave nicely to everyone: You go to office to earn money and not to change the world. People around you might be committing mistakes. Let them do so; after all even god is not perfect. Despite of any errors, be nice to everyone. Treat the people as human before you treat them as colleagues. Do not fight or quarrel people in office because they have done something that has harmed the company.

2. Look a team player: A team player is someone who helps the team achieve its goal, and helps other people achieve their goals. Try not to become a block in the success of your manager or your company. Help your boss and co-workers in their work; until they becoming a block in your success. Be or not a team player, but look like a team player, behave like a team player.

3. Your efforts should be visible: You can’t win office politics by hiding your skills. After all it is a front-to-front game. Whatever you contribute in the company – must be visible to everybody. If you do something very good and it is not visible – believe me there is no personal use doing it. When many people are sacked – it is due to the fact that nobody knows that they have a big contribution in the company. You should maintain a favourable image in office that should declaim about you – a hard working person!

4. Abstain from complain – especially to the bosses: Believe me nobody likes complaints especially recurring complaints that cannot be solved. Try to become a problem solver for the company – a visible problem solver. You really do not get anything from complaining. By complaining about your competitors you make them alert. Let them commit mistakes till it becomes a blunder. When it becomes a blunder – it will become visible to everybody. And then you should tell a solution to it – that will make you visible as a problem solver.

5. Try to help your boss in becoming a success: In every political party there are patrons. These patrons support their own people. In the same way try to make your boss your patron, until you are ready to get over him. On one hand your ultimate goal is to get the position of your boss, but the way around to this position goes through the pen of your boss. For some it may be cheating but for an office politician it is diplomacy. Nobody in the world can grow if he doesn’t win faith of superiors and outperform the people in front of him, even the same people.

6. Look loyal: Ensure that you are not termed as a person doing backbiting and backstabbing. Your halo should emit loyalty. You will need to use these two tools (backbiting and backstabbing) for promotion- but use them secretly. Let backbiting not look backbiting but a feedback. And backstabbing should look as a compulsion.

7. Learn technical stuff about your job: It may not be important to do the work, but it is very important to know the work. If you know the work, people will not make a fool out of you. So try to learn as much as stuff you can. Learn from meanest people from your company and never let your ego conflict with the learning. Office politicians are not morons, but they are the smartest workers, who know it all.

8. Make relationship all around the industry: Relations are the ultimate tool of success in your organization. More number of people you know, the better are the opportunities for your job and hence job security. Your current job may be secure or not, but you can always have a job when needed provided you are surrounded by people with enough power.

9. Focus on your boss: Many times we feel very disgusting about our boss. We hate our boss and want to go above him. Do it – but never show it. Never declare a war against your boss. He is here because he was the most talented person available for his job. Talented may be not in terms of technical knowledge but in terms of office politics. If a less technically talented person is on the top, consider he has a sense of office politics. Your boss may not know some jobs but one thing he knows for sure- getting the job done from more talented people. Always develop good relations with your boss by suppressing your emotions – and do it only because you want to defeat him one day. Nurture his ego and kill your ego so one day the poison of ego within him can defeat him.

In the further chapters we will learn about the above information in detail.

So good Luck to the new office politician!