Turf Wars: Two powerful people are fighting to win control of your function — and you are caught in the middle
In any organisation there are powerful people. Most seek to acquire more power and influence. As their power grows, someone else loses power. People compete to acquire more resources, more control — and anything else they can get their hands on — to become more influential. Their motive may be authentic and have integrity – but it is natural to seek more territory.
The arrival of the matrix structure means we see Turf Wars more often. Many of us now have two -– or more – bosses which makes this dilemma more likely. If our bosses are competing with each other, we are placed in a difficult position. Who should we favour? If we back one whole-heartedly, what happens when they lose? This political dilemma is a frequent side effect of deliberate organisational design. We have to learn quickly to make the right decisions if we are to be successful and survive the Turf Wars.
Carlos’ Dilemma:
“I’m in a very delicate position at the moment. I’ve worked for Jack, the VP of Operations for a number of years are we’ve done some great work together. My results have been very strong and I’m now in control of around 150 people whose work is critical to the organisation. Our job is to tightly control all of the processes within Operations that have anything to do with money. Since there’s more than a billion a year flowing through, it’s vital that this all works effectively -– and it does!”
“My problem is that a new VP has arrived in finance — Joe Espinoze. He believes that I should report directly to him -– I already have a dotted line to him but he wants more. He’s a great guy and I think he’s a big catch for Xennic. To be frank, I think he has a valid point. But I report directly to Jack because he has P&L responsibility for operations and when we established my function years ago, there was nobody in finance capable of handling it. So we worked closely together and moved fast. We quickly established a robust process and saved several million in the first couple of months. Jack is proud of what we have achieved and is not going to lose control without a fight.”
“And it’s certainly turning into a fight! I’ve quickly built a good relationship with Joe and like his style. He has confided in me about how much he wants to get hold of my function and is doing everything he can to win me over. Joe has recently started asking me to give him inside information about Jack that he can use to win control. I owe Jack a great deal and I don’t want to be disloyal. He trusts me and is asking for my help to fend Joe off.”
Carlos Sanchez, Head of Ops Audit
Consider:
- Should Carlos side with Jack? Why? Why not?
- What does Carlos need to know to make a decision?
- What is Joe doing wrong?
- What advice would you give to Carlos right now?
Answers
No two people look at politics in an identical way. The critical thing is that you exercise your thinking on these case studies and practice thinking things through and planning the action that you would take, if you were to face this situation. This is a key aspect of our Mastering the Politics course. When you are on this course, we will take you through all the steps you need to take to handle the politics with ease. Included in this, you will get comprehensive answers to all of these case studies.
Mastering the Politics
- Explore the Six Pillars of Political Mastery.
- Develop a stronger foundation with the Seven Core Characteristics.
- Learn how to engage positively and constructively with the politics around your work.
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