Office Politics – Should I leverage it to further my career?
Posted on | April 28, 2011
Early in my career, I have been burnt by office politics but not in the way you think. I didn’t feel burnt because someone else sabotaged my job. On the contrary, I concluded, I burnt myself because I didn’t understand or appreciate office politics and the importance of using it fairly and skillfully to protect and build my career advantage.
So my answer is: Yes, you should leverage office politics to further your career as long as it is not intentionally at the expense of others’ careers. Office politics usually conveys a negative connotation in pop culture. However, I believe whenever there is a company with three or more employees, office politics exists. If you don’t understand how to work with it and others do, you can potentially be at a disadvantage in your career.
In Wikipedia, “office politics” is defined as “the use of one’s individual or assigned power within an employing organization for the purpose of obtaining advantages beyond one’s legitimate authority.”
I don’t agree for two reasons
- It implies unfair advantage at all times but I think office politics will exist even if no one in the office is intentionally trying to manipulate. This is because each person in the office is a human being with aspirations, insecurities, power of influence, power of position, and personal perspective about others’ ability and contribution in the office. Interaction between people will naturally create politics and fair office politics can exist.
- Your role in playing office politics is to influence those in positions of power/influence over your career to perceive favorably about your work and contribution. This is a legitimate and valuable job skill. Afterall, perspection is reality. You can further your career using this skill because not everyone understand office politics and knows how to best portray their work and contributions at the right time to the right people. (stay tuned for a future blog post on How to leverage office politics to further your career fairly?)
What gives office politics the negative connotation is because we only think of examples of those who play unfair office politics – someone who tries to sabotage other’s careers at the same time furthering their own. I would re-define office politics in 3 bullets
- “office politics” should be defined as “the use of one’s individual influence skills within an employing organization to protect or obtain advantage in their career.”
- “fair office politics” by adding to the core definition “without intentionally sabotaging others’ jobs / careers”
- “unfair office politics” by adding to the core definition “at the expense of others’ careers”
I look forward to your comments! Good luck on your job. I am always in your corner!
Lei
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4 Responses to “Office Politics – Should I leverage it to further my career?”
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Lei Han - Career Coach
Stanford engineer and Wharton MBA | Business / marketing executive with 15 years of corporate experience | Mentored 100+ professionals | Screened / interviewed hundreds of candidates | Connect with me 
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December 17th, 2011 @ 10:56 pm
Hi Han Lei ,
I’m wenting .i am a buyer in a German company .currently i am working under a unfair office politics .My boss ,he intentionally make a conflict atmosphere between my colleague and me .It just because i was recruited by his boss .and his boss doesn’t recognized his work .Unfortunately ,he think that is my fault .even he think i am the obstacles of his career .you know ,i am trying to communicate with him ,even i thought i can use my work ,my action to prove that i am not his enemy .But i’m fail .He is a man ,he is 4 years older than me ,he has higher education than me ,he has three languages skills .but he think i am his competitor ?! he use all what he can do to let me out of this work ~ .that is too ridiculous ?? .even i am thinking if i need change other company to end this meaningless fighting .but i don’t know why i should quit ??
can you please give me some suggestions ?i am so so confused !!
January 12th, 2012 @ 4:59 am
Just consntrt on our work.never loud to them.dnt gv remark infont of d boss to ur mates.this ll b a bad mannr.if u want to shr thn u shr with ur nearst one in home u ll fill btr.othrwise those behv of ur boss dig ur heart.for soothing ur mind talk to ur love.just gv ur 100 prcnt n if they r not talk abot ur personal life just behv like profesonal man.ur work ll shut their mouth.
February 22nd, 2012 @ 2:51 am
I have been a VICTIM recently…iam jobless these days..my female boss and her sycophant brigade careted a nonsense mindless empire in this government organisation…just always non verbally and verbally used power to subdue me..so just as i was well aware of theri tactics and more intelligent than their minds but still not in thier sycophant brigade….couldnt take it anymore have resigned..its been a month..so i started reading on these topics like communication, disagreemants, power, influencing and convincing others..i was the most qualified but i just couldnt handle the politics of the place…on your wriitng i would say how are you justifying inintentional power ploitics..dont we deserve to raise our ethical/spiritual standards of behaviour..and emotional awareness…
April 16th, 2012 @ 5:43 pm
Is the quote in #2 above accurate when it says “Afterall, perspection is reality.”
Is it possible that the word was meant to have been “perception”, as in “Afterall, perception is reality.”?
If that is what was meant to have been said, it is a miss-quote. The original saying goes: “Perception is 9/10ths of Reality”.
Quoting from the attached web-site, here is what is said about this “rule”:
“Reality is important in business. But as far as your customers and prospects are concerned, perception is 9/10ths of reality and that is how they will make future decisions regarding your business. Everyone in your organization that regularly communicates with your customers should have this principle drilled into their heads until it becomes part of their normal process.”
We have to be careful when we are dealing with our own perceptions, because perception is NOT reality. It is that 1/10 of a percent where we get into trouble of misjudging, being down-right wrong. I think people believe the first quote though, even though it is misquoted, as your post has done. Be careful to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth…or who knows what people will perceive about you?