Article location http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/14/politics.html
 
December 18, 2007
Tags: Leadership, Careers, Human Relations and Organizational Development, personal growth

The Good Guy’s (and Gal’s) Guide to Office Politics
By Michael Warshaw

When Cindy Casselman took a communications job at Xerox headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, the company’s communications weren’t so good. If Xerox made a big acquisition or had a disappointing quarter, many of its 85,000 people read the news in the papers before they got the scoop from the company. Casselman was determined to change things. “I was manager of employee communications,” she says. “I took my job seriously.”

But Casselman, now 50, didn’t have much formal authority. She was, to use an out-of-favor phrase, a middle manager: someone whose boss had a boss who had a boss. So she assembled a makeshift budget and mustered a volunteer team that she called the Sanctioned Covert Operation (SCO) – “sanctioned,” because her direct boss tolerated what looked like a modest project; “covert,” because her actual goals were more ambitious than she let on.
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How to Win at Office Politics (Hint: It’s Like Basketball)

March 3, 2008 BY stergeron

Original article can be found at http://www.ploomy.com/2008/03/03/how-to-win-at-office-politics-without-selling-out-hint-its-like-basketball/

I’ve been fortunate to work at many different types of companies: a mom-and-pop business, a start-up, a mid-size company, a Fortune 500 company, and also my own small business. Regardless of where I worked, one constant remained the same—you must play office politics to succeed.

Office politics is such a dirty term you say? You may think no way not for me, I’m above that tomfoolery stuff. The reality is you’ll have to start playing at some point because everyone is playing this game whether they know it or not.

And if you think about it long enough, playing office politics is just like any other game. Matter of fact, it’s sort of like basketball. There is a general manager (your boss’ boss), a coach (your boss), players (you and your co-workers), and even bench warmers (those who think they are above the game and don’t get to play because they suck).

And with that, let’s go over some of the fundamentals of office politics. Grab your mouth piece, lace em up and get ready for the jump ball.
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Editor’s note: CNN.com has a business partnership with CareerBuilder.com, which serves as the exclusive provider of job listings and services to CNN.com.

Politics in the workplace can get vicious — and we’re not talking about the governmental kind. Rather, office politics, or how power and influence are managed in your company, will be a part of your career whether you choose to participate in them or not.
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Don’t align yourself too strongly with just one group at the office because they may not hold power forever.

Some workers say they don’t want to get caught up in politics at work, but most experts argue that playing the game is crucial to your career success. By not getting involved, you may find your talents ignored, your success limited and you may feel left out of the loop, says Louellen Essex, co-author of “Manager’s Desktop Consultant: Just-in-Time Solutions to the Top People Problems That Keep You Up at Night.”

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The complete article can be found at : http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/03/10/win.office.politics/index.html

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/7-habits-to-win-in-office-politics.html

January 24th, 2008 in Management
7 Habits To Win In Office Politics

Office Politics

Office politics – a taboo word for some people. It’s a pervasive thing at the workplace. In it’s simplest form, office politics is simply about the differences between people at work; differences in opinions, conflicts of interests are often manifested as office politics. It all goes down to human communications and relationships.

There is no need to be afraid of office politics. Top performers are those who have mastered the art of winning in office politics. Below are 7 good habits to help you win at the workplace:

HABIT #1 – BE AWARE YOU HAVE A CHOICE

The most common reactions to politics at work are either fight or flight. It’s normal human reaction for survival in the wild, back in the prehistoric days when we were still hunter-gatherers. Sure, the office is a modern jungle, but it takes more than just instinctive reactions to win in office politics. Instinctive fight reactions will only cause more resistance to whatever you are trying to achieve; while instinctive flight reactions only label you as a pushover that people can easily take for granted. Neither options are appealing for healthy career growth.

Winning requires you to consciously choose your reactions to the situation. Recognize that no matter how bad the circumstances, you have a choice in choosing how you feel and react. So how do you choose? This bring us to the next point…

HABIT #2 – KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE
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