Have you ever wondered, how do you come to learn whether or not you are good at managing office politics or simply struggling with it?
While there is no written manual you or a gold standard that you could refer to every time you find yourself stuck in a quagmire of issues, but allow me to share of experiences and expertise, that can help you maneuver through the maze.
Observe and pay attention to the following.
-You are dealing with a difficult colleague who lack interpersonal skills
-The client demands are not only unrealistic but unfair and devoid of any consideration
-Some other team leads hold a different approach to the same problem and clash unecessarily
-Your boss is eccentric and sometimes totally devoid of logic
-You find yourself way more knowledgeable, competent than your supervisor who struggle to articulate the problem statement
But despite these varied set of complex issues, you are able to succeed in it.
This and many more, indicate how well can you observe the power distribution, understand the unspoken and unwritten, the higher your awareness the likely chances of navigating it effectively.
On the contrary when you find yourself,
- in a constant state of bickering,
- find yourself trapped,
- being reactive and operating out of not one but different blind spots,
- totally oblivious to ongoing realities at workplace,
- until one day when you find the damage cannot be undone.
This is a point to stop, pause and immediately seek support, instead of adapting the DIY approach.
The early on you can identify your adeptness or the inability the better it is for you and your career progression.
The Lesson
Kelly learned this lesson the hard way, when she was allocated to a high-profile project, her inability to identify the key stakeholders proved to be very difficult for her.
As a technical expert, she was a pro with her skills and abilities, however she landed herself in deep trouble when she failed to understand the hidden KRA’s-Key result areas in her role, which were not confine to technical expertise and processes, instead demanded a strong influence with the stakeholders living on the other side of the world.
Kelly committed some mistakes which most of emerging leaders would do;
- Not being able to identify key stakeholder in the entire project ,assignment or hierarchy.
- Not been able to read the unspoken
- Not being able to guage the power matrix
- Not being able to identify the key influencer
- Unaware of where the decisions are being made and who is influencing it.
- Not clear about the image as perceived by all others, especially the key stakeholders about her.
On account of this, she ended up outside the assignment and eventually out of the organization.
An opportunity which could have fast tracked her career, instead ended up in a new role and new organization with a set of somewhat similar issues to deal with.
Key lesson learnt
What she failed to understand was, that along with her task and responsibilities, the political environment and all key players are equally important to be understood and dealt with, along with her in it.
The story of Kelly is not new, most of us have been in this position and have perhaps committed the same errors as she did.
but the good news is that not all is lost, and with the most appropriate strategies one could easily get back on track.
How So ?
If you want to learn more about it, click here and let’s talk.
© Mehnaz Amjad 2017-2024
Mehnaz Amjad | Coach
Hyderabad, India