Dealing with workplace politics is a reality that can make or break your career. If you don’t know how to handle the political games that are being played around you, then it is time that you did. Here are five tips for overcoming and dealing with workplace politics.
Be Assertive – Stand up for yourself
One of the main problems at work is not knowing what you want and therefore not communicating it clearly to others. As a result, other people feed off this lack of confidence in themselves and will often try to tell you what to do instead of asking if you have any ideas yourself.
When faced with this situation, be assertive but non-confrontational. For example, when someone tells you what they think, your next step should be simple to say, “I understand what you are saying, and I am considering it.” Then move on.
Discreetly Build an Alliances
As with most social interactions, you are building alliances at work can do wonders for your career growth and success. The more people who know about your abilities and talents, the higher the chance that they will come in handy when a position of power opens up and that you will get more recognition if you did good work.
However, be aware that some co-workers may build alliances just to keep tabs on their competition, so choose wisely who you share information with and how much information is shared with them.
Always have something to offer
A growing problem in many organizations is that are plenty of opportunities for rewarding work, but a lack of people qualified to do the job. A way that some managers have tried to combat this is by hiring less-skilled workers and having them shadow more experienced employees until they are ready for tasks on their own.
If you don’t have enough experience or education, then start offering to do any menial tasks around the office so that your bosses know you are committed and willing to do anything necessary in order to get ahead. Also, be sure to follow your co-workers around so you can learn from him/them.
Keep an Open Mind
One of the most common mistakes people make in politics is thinking that they know everything and therefore don’t need advice from anyone else. So when someone with more knowledge comes along and tries to make a suggestion, they don’t take them seriously.
In order to keep an open mind at work, you must be willing to listen even when it is not something that you want to hear. This means that if your boss or co-worker offers their idea of how the task at hand should be completed, then listen, rather than dismissing it out of hand because it does not fit with your way of doing things.
Get Mentored
Mentoring relationships are becoming more and more common in the workplace as a way for rank and file employees to get ahead without having a direct supervisor who would be able to give them any kind of promotion or pay raise. If you have been stuck in the same position for some time now, then perhaps this is a good strategy to follow.
A mentor will coach you on what to do and say in order to get noticed by those higher up the food chain. They will also teach you how to use your current position as a stepping stone into something bigger and better. If you were lucky, then the person who offers to be your mentor may have even been one themselves at some point in their career path.
So don’t let workplace politics get you down; learn from them instead!