Games People Play

"BACK stabber” is an expression commonly used to describe an employee who strives to achieve personal gain at the expense and detriment of others.

Such individuals are generally disliked, but like them or loathe them, most people, at some point, have participated in what is termed “political behaviour” at work.

“Politicking” or political behaviour within a work context is the attempt by individual employees to enhance their career prospects by engaging in behaviour that places them in positions of opportunity or in an otherwise favourable light.

One of the characteristics of politicking is that it takes place outside the scope of one’s job.

What’s OK, what’s not

Let’s distinguish between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” political behaviour.

Legitimate political behaviour is that which is broadly acceptable although not necessarily ethical.

It includes forming coalitions, bypassing decision-making procedures and generally adopting a positive profile within the organisation.

Illegitimate political behaviour violates the norms of what is acceptable both within the organisation and within society generally.

As well as being considered generally unethical, in its most extreme form, it can also transgress the law.

This type of politicking might include the use of bribery, the spreading of false rumours and lying about previous employment or qualifications.

Political animals

Psychologists have identified specific personality characteristics associated with “political individuals”. They tend to exhibit these behaviours:

■ High self-monitors: They are conscious of the signals that their behaviour gives out and are aware of how it can be used to their advantage. High self-monitors are able to adapt the image that they present in accordance with the prevailing political climate.

■ High degree of control: They have a strong belief in controlling their own destiny as opposed to leaving it to circumstances. These people have an ability to manipulate a situation in a way that the outcomes favour them personally.

■ High desire for power and control: Their need for power and control often supersedes their need to be liked. They are better able to cope with being unpopular.

Other factors

■ Investment in the organisation: Employees who have spent some time building up their career within an organisation are likely to devote more energy and time to politicking as a way of justifying the time already spent developing a power base within that organisation.

■ Scarcity of opportunities outside: A shortage of opportunities outside will also provide a strong incentive for employees to consolidate their position within an organisation through politicking.

■ Age: As people grow older, the opportunities of finding employment outside the organisation start to diminish, and this can also be an incentive to start politicking.

■ Immobility: If employees’ mobility is restricted as a result of their personal circumstances, politicking is often seen as a necessary activity.

Environmental factors

Organisations where politicking is widespread share some common traits:

■ Low trust cultures: A lack of trust usually implies lack of confidence. Employees will fall back upon personal strategies as a way of protecting their own interests.

■ Role ambiguity: Blurred divisions of authority usually give rise to the need for employees to reduce this ambiguity by developing their own allegiances, power bases and lines of authority by politicking.

■ Unclear performance targets: If expectations are unclear, politicking is a way by which employees can create their own performance criteria.

■ Downsizing: When there is the threat of job losses, politicking is often adopted as a survival strategy.

■ Value chain reconfiguration: During the transitional period of major change in an organisation, politicking may be used as a way of protecting one’s own interests within the organisation.

Seeing the world

Further research has shed more light on why some individuals are more naturally inclined to engage in political behaviour than others.

Employees whose worldview is shaped by a series of random, unrelated and often-irrational events and outcomes are likely to apply this type of scenario to their organisations.

In other words, they perceive the organisation as part of a disorderly and unpredictable world where politicking is inevitable and necessary.

Typically, these tend to be younger and less experienced employees with lower incomes and limited responsibilities.

Politicking is their way of bridging the gap between certainty and uncertainty, and often reflects feelings of frustration and powerlessness.

In contrast, more experienced managers tend to have greater faith in decision-making processes which they see as generally rational and equitable.

They are less swayed by the notion of the world or the organisation as a political jungle.

A matter of conscience

Political astuteness is a necessary skill in any context. Unfortunately, we live in a world where increasingly one individual can benefit at another’s expense.

At the end of the day, you have to reconcile your own sense of selfesteem, integrity and dignity with how far down this particular road you are prepared to travel.

- Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Article by Paul FitzPatrick, a consultant with the Singapore Human Resources Institute.

Building Your Power from the Inside Out

Want more influence at work? The answer is not in a PowerPoint deck—you have to speak your mind and stick to your convictions.

by Liz Ryan

I gave a talk recently at a human resources conference. The topic was "Building Your Personal Power." This is one of my favorite topics and one that resonates with businesspeople, perhaps because they work in environments where symbols of power are everywhere. Various measures and trophies, from the size of one's cube to business-class travel privileges to titles, roles, and places on the company's org chart indicate our relative power. But as I told the group, the more important kind of power isn't associated with org charts or budgets or offices with window views. It's a different kind of power, the kind that we cultivate in ourselves.

Over and over again, when chief executives and other leaders are asked about their paths to success, we hear them say, "I stuck to my convictions, and I spoke my mind at critical moments." The power these leaders developed wasn't conferred on them by a higher-level manager or a board of directors or an awards committee. They created it.

A great many businesspeople, at all levels and across functions, eventually hit a point in their careers where the next step isn't to be found in a book or a PowerPoint deck. Most people don't reach this critical juncture early in their careers. They're too busy scrambling to learn how business works, how to work on a team, how to manage goals, and a thousand other how-tos. During those early years, they've got too much on their plates to stop and wonder, "What stands between me and my goals?"

Why Don't I Have More Influence?
But at some point, once they're comfortable with their professional skills, well-regarded in their fields, and confident about themselves in general, the question arises: "What must I do next to get to the point where I really deserve to be in my career?"

That goal may be tied to title, size of job, or compensation, but it could just as easily be a matter of answering the question "Why don't I have more influence at work?" It could come after we're overlooked for a key promotion, or as we come to the realization that our skills are relied upon but not highly valued by our managers. It could come through any number of influences. One day we may be driving to the office, stressing about an early meeting, when we suddenly think "I am smart and I work hard. Don't I deserve more than this?"

Here's the tough part. The next step in all likelihood will come not from a book or a workshop or even an MBA program, but from a reevaluation of your relationship with your job. In short, the people who reach the goals they aspire to are people who "own" their jobs—whose accountability for their success is absolute and who follow their convictions over political considerations, the desire to avoid conflict, and other entanglements. That's why the next step is a tough one. It doesn't involve working harder, working more hours, or pleasing the right person. It could involve just the opposite.

A Matter of Personal Power
Since my background is in human resources, HR people are always asking me, " How do I become more influential and gain a seat at the table?" HR leaders tell me "I am well-educated and experienced. I am as competent as can be. What do I need to do to influence the way this organization functions beyond the dental plan and the new employee orientation?"

I have to tell them their experience and academic credentials don't have as much to do with this equation as they might hope. The influence they're after won't come from more training, and their boss can't confer that influence on them. It's not a matter of knowledge; it's a matter of credibility, of personal power.

Trust me, lots of HR people don't want to hear that. Gaining that personal power, for an HR person, very often means standing up for the right thing when people in more powerful spots don't see it or don't agree. It means taking risks. That's tough. That's why so many people never take that step. It's a shame they don't. The beneficiaries of more personally empowered managers would be not only the managers themselves but also their teams, their company's customers, and the shareholders of those organizations.

Become Credible by Being Challenged
I spoke with a marketing vice-president who said, "I am in the right company. I never want to leave." This was a tad surprising, if not alarming, because the man was, at most, 36. He continued "You see, at this company they don't know much about marketing, so they defer to me on everything." I asked him why he would set his personal development bar so low? Is that the grand prize—to work in a company where you're never challenged? If you aren't challenged, you won't learn how to make an argument, win people over to your side, or end up on the losing side of a question with grace. That's how people become credible. They don't bend with the wind, and they don't become powerful by staying in jobs where there's no one to learn from.

You see the next-step issue arise in the area of work-life balance all the time. People say, "I have a good job, and I don't want to mess anything up for myself politically. I'm viewed as a key person, so I'll give up my nights and weekends, even though I hate it." What they don't see is that if they occasionally insisted on some time off to have a life, they'd gain credibility, not lose it.

Building Your Inner-Power Muscles
The next step has everything to do with giving up the idea "I'll do whatever I need to do at work to be liked" and moving toward, "There's no point in spending as much energy and as many hours as I do at work, if I can't be myself." That's a big step, no, a huge one. It can be terrifying. But ask any leader you admire, and you'll hear the same thing; every one of them has done it. Some have crashed and burned in the process, making tough decisions and sharing difficult news and angering people along the way. Not surprisingly, people who have cultivated their personal power tend to bounce back. So will you.

Here's another good thing to know about building your power from the inside out: It gets easier the more you do it. You might say that speaking from your gut is like singing from your diaphragm—the more you practice it, the stronger the muscle grows. One of these days, when you're way more confident than you are right now, a younger person will ask "Gosh, how did you get to be so confident?" Try to resist the temptation to say, "I had a PowerPoint deck showing 10 simple tips for becoming more powerful."

Liz Ryan is an expert on the new-millennium workplace and a former Fortune 500 HR executive.