Petty politicking in the workplace breeds disharmony and damages the culture of an organisation. If you don’t want to join in and are looking for a more positive and constructive way to turn these incidents around, try this seven step process.
- Recognise: Firstly, pause and reflect on what is actually going on. What are the facts, what is the fiction, what is just rumour?
- Accept: Remind yourself that this is a normal part of working life. The person playing the game or dirty trick is a person (just like you) and they are probably doing this for a very legitimate reason (at least in their eyes).
- Empower: Take stock and remember your own right to attempt to fulfil your needs and get what you want. Empower yourself with your high-integrity value-driven approach.
- Plan: If you have time, decide what outcome you want and the best way (and time) to attempt it. If you don’t have time, try to extricate yourself from the situation so you can think.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
Ever felt overlooked, unheard, or stuck in office politics? You’re not alone. The Gautrey Influence Blog breaks down the real-world strategies behind leadership, influence, and power—giving you the tools to be heard, respected, and successful. Join 35,000+ professionals getting ahead the smart way—subscribe now.
💡 Benchmark your Influence: Take the Master of Influence Assessment (Free for Subscribers!)
👉 [Subscribe & Take the Assessment]
- Call it: As you engage constructively (and positively) with the game player, call it as you see it. Explain quickly what you think is going on. Don’t get engaged in an argument. Quickly state what you see happening and move to the next step. This could sound like, “It seems to me that this is one of those situations where you are trying to back me into a corner and agree with you before I am ready.”
- Stop it: Don’t let them interrupt you. State that this is not the way you want your relationship to work and that everyone would get an awful lot more out of this if everyone put their cards on the table and is clear about what they want to achieve. Something along the lines of, “This is not a situation I am prepared to accept because in the long run it doesn’t help either of us. I’m pretty sure that we could both get a lot more of what want by working together more openly.”
- Change it: Still, giving them no time to argue or defend themselves, motivate them to engage with you in a more open way, without accusing them of being dishonest. Perhaps you could say, “So come on, how about we share with each other what we need to achieve here, what the obstacles are and see if we can work out how to help each other.”
Now, you may well think this is hard, and it does take some practice. It works pretty well as a general purpose antidote because it:
- Signals that you know what they are up to.
- Makes it clear to them you are not stupid, and are confident enough to do something about it.
- Doesn’t give them the opportunity to get all defensive.
- It gives them a way out of a potentially embarrassing situation.
But, a make sure you do it quickly so they don’t have the opportunity to retort until they have seen the constructive and hopefully more palatable option in step 7.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
Ever felt overlooked, unheard, or stuck in office politics? You’re not alone. The Gautrey Influence Blog breaks down the real-world strategies behind leadership, influence, and power—giving you the tools to be heard, respected, and successful. Join 35,000+ professionals getting ahead the smart way—subscribe now..
💡 Benchmark your Influence: Take the Master of Influence Assessment (Free for Subscribers!)
👉 [Subscribe & Take the Assessment]