Whether it´s with good intentions or bad, office politics affects everyone. The desire to move up the ladder, acquire power, or correctly align oneself toward a direction of interest is founded in simple actions that are, in essence, political. As a culture, we have been exposed to such actions for so long that we have also come up with key phraseology to define the actions of some person or persons involved in the obvious act of politics, such as "kissing up to the boss," "going for the kill," and "weaseling their way in." Have you looked up the definition of "politics" in the dictionary? The definition includes descriptions like these: 1. Having practical wisdom; prudent; shrewd; diplomatic; 2. Crafty; unscrupulous; 3. Prudently or artfully contrived; expedient, as a plan, action, remark. Add the phrase "in the office" after any of these and we have hit the mark at achieving a definition and not merely a colloquialism.
The unfortunate truth is that only you can really look after your own future. If you started in the mailroom with dreams of one day making the "big" decisions in the boardroom, who else is going to get you noticed and help you move up that company ladder? Now comes the politics: how do you make such a move? Make friends with everyone you meet, stay late working overtime, taking on any assignment with responsibility, the list goes on. It is not feasible to make these moves with absolute elegance. Someone is going to feel like you are elbowing in on his or her territory - and you are.
What about the other side? You´re not the "elbower" but the "elbowee". You feel compelled to make a counterattack that doesn´t paint you as insecure or unhelpful - but how? We usually blow up about the situation after stewing on it for a while or ignore it and hope it goes away. Either way, you´ve worked hard to get where you´re at and now someone is either undermining you or is voraciously after your job. It´s infuriating because we take our jobs seriously and personally - and we should.
No matter what side you´re on, office politics are plain dreadful to deal with. Most people who have worked for any length of time have experienced some form of it. In an effort to make it easier to bear, I have a couple of suggestions: documentation and communication.
In the past, when it has been more than obvious I am suffering from the dreaded syndrome, I have made a conscious effort to document the happenings in a detached way. In large organizations if you don´t have any proof, you can easily be labeled a whiner. To be honest, this worked like a wonder in a particularly difficult situation I was involved in. I, along with several others who suffered under the extreme tyranny of an uncontrolled supervisor, eventually convinced those in higher power to shift organizational responsibility.
With documentation at hand, we succeeded at making that particular place to work better for the future. This works not only from the bottom up but also from the top down as I made this recommendation to a supervisor with a daunting employee problem. Documentation helped the supervisor and the employee recognize that the job requirements had changed and the relationship between the needs for the position and the employees´ skills were not a feasible match. The supervisor helped the employee transition smoothly into a new position in another organization, which resulted in both sides being happier.
Communication has also been a key element when dealing with office politics that negatively affect you. If your supervisor isn´t aware that you are struggling with outside forces on your position, it can appear that you are not performing up-to-snuff. If you communicate your difficulties to your supervisor (or appropriate manager) they can either help alleviate the problem or explain what´s going on. If you are directed to help the "elbowee," then you are viewed as a helpful and active participant in the grand business scheme. If the "elbowee" is deemed for removal from elbowing you, then you also end up satisfied. My experience has shown me that if you try to deal with these situations alone, then you often end up fighting the battle alone. In my experience, most organizations (especially small ones) rely heavily on the input from its members and the lack of communication can make it appear that you are not interested in the organization as a whole.
The realm of office politics is huge and often overwhelming. Each situation requires time, attention, patience, and the best action(s) possible. The unfortunate side of office politics is that our emotions are so heavily involved that we often don´t make the best choices. So buckle up for the ride and buckle down on your documentation and communication skills. If you are prepared for each situation then you will feel as though office politics is simply another office task and not a string of office nightmares.