Q. I have been an HR person for five years. Before I got into HR I would not have believed you if you told me that people will sit in a room and strategize together about office politics.
I’ve seen supervisors, managers and even VPs saying things like I am going to get her before she gets me, He must be crazy if you thinks he’s going to take any of my power away, etc. They do it out in the open. They don’t think twice about it
A. Politics are based on fear, and the allocation of scarce resources. The working world is riddled with fear and politics and it is easy to see why. Titles, big salaries, clout, budgets and other perks are scarce resources
Access to executives is a scarce resource that working people fiercely jockey over. Recognition is a scarce resource. Career advancement is one, it goes without saying
So people will step on one another or stab their coworkers in the back to get those good things, especially in an organization where being political is considered being smart and savvy
The people who sit around plotting against their peers are not bad people, not worse than you or me. They are deep in fear in a fear-soaked environment and they don’t know how it, much less know how to deal with it.
So they compete with one another using the language of battle. They don’t understand that if they win at corporate politics in their company, they are the biggest loser. They agree to not-be-themselves to get something they think they need
They forgot what they knew as kids
They forgot what they knew as kids
The kids who seem like posers and fakers are fearful. They don’t feel OK about themselves. We knew this in fourth grade but somehow we forget it when we get into the working world.
The harder one works at workplace politics, the more bought into the toxic ecosystem they are; the more pitiable they are, and the less powerful
When you get a ringside view of the scheming the you the way you did in those conference rooms, you see how people can devolve to their fearful reptilian state right in front of you. Then you resolve to step up and out of there, speak your truth and let your gut be your guide
