Persuasion Wins
To keep the discussion ongoing , I said : “ Out of ignorance of the far and wide tentacles of office politics , some employees engage in aggression as a method of fighting over scarce work-related opportunities .” I contrasted aggression with persuasion on matters where subjective factors cast shadows on objectivity . I further said : “ In a duel for resource allocation , persuasion overrides aggression . It is the few employees with admirable persuasion skills who carry the day .” Employees need persuasion skills in their toolbox of competencies to thrive at work . Possession of persuasion skills has become as necessary as sunshine is for plants to blossom .
Signs of Times
Posing with visible seriousness , Angela told us : “ It is common knowledge that CEOs , Boards or Heads of Department come and leave the organization but the institution is there to stay . The people who catch my eye are employees at lower levels . They are usually caught unawares when unanticipated abrupt changes occur at the top causing tremors throughout the organization .” At times of change corridors of office or factory premises become venues to discuss different re-alignments to accommodate the new power structures .
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My homegrown definition of office politics is ‘ using subjectivity to make workplace decisions when objectivity hits a dead end .’
David gave us a piece of advice : “ Since organizational changes are bound to occur at any time , employees should study and understand workplace signs of times . Thus , they can absorb and adjust to any sudden winds that could impact on working relationships .”
Sacrificial Lamb
I have always believed that the greatest bungle in office politics is buck passing of responsibility for major mistakes . No one wants to be singly accountable for what occurred . For instance , if a fire broke out in the office , God forbid , killing two or more members of staff . Who do you think should be held responsible ? I know that most people would be fast to point accusing fingers at a weak employee or employees in the organization . Yet , the suspected employees may have nothing to do with the fire .
Baffled in attempting to identify the culprit in the fire accident , Angela asked : “ In this case , who is to blame ?” I swiftly answered : “ Top management , whoever that is . Remember that the buck stops at the top unless proved otherwise .” I gave the example of a Minister for Transport resigning on the same day when two trains in India had a head-on collision . Daudi quipped : “ I am yet to hear that happen in some developing countries . I caution employees to avoid situations that would make them a sacrificial lamb in an office tragedy .”
As we walked towards the parking lot , Angela said : “ Learning which ropes to skip and which ones not to in office politics takes a long time . But the first step to survival is for employees to appreciate its occurrence and continually linger inside the tide .”
Samson Osero is an Independent Human Resource Development Consultant and Author of the book ‘ Transition Into Retirement ’. You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at : Samsonosero @ gmail . com .
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