Now that I am working for the 7th company in my professional
experience spread over a dozen years and multiple countries and a few
continents I feel that I have finally (rather obvious) concluded that office
politics is not a local or regional phenomenon. It is a universal
reality.
The sooner we acknowledge its existence, the better prepared we will be to handle and cope with it. Mostly I feel it’s about how WE react to such situation and less about accepting it.
But as the saying
goes, acceptance is half the battle won.
First, always
remember that amongst all the variables that you cannot control ... there is
one very important factor that you can control. That factor is YOUR RESPONSE to
any situation. How you choose to react decides the tangent the situation will
take. Always evaluate and respond in a manner that is above petty personal
differences and ultimately good for the business.
Second, Always remember that if your reaction supports the bottom
line then sooner or later your boss and management will see it. This is a good
thing J
Third, instead of being upset about the things you cannot change
its better to be happy about the things you can change. Very often we are too
busy feeling victimized by some policy that we cannot change to notice the
positive influence we can bring within our own area of influence.
Fourth, Its always better not to take sides. Being opinionated is
one thing however taking sides is another. Learn better and effective conflict
resolution techniques in order to resolves positively the disagreements.
Fifth, Always remember to understand before your seek to be
understood. This helps in creating a deeper understanding of the others point
of view and also creates a better possibility of a Win-Win situation.
Last, Never …Never get personal. It is an office and you will come
across many people from different places and different insight and opinions and
objectives. You must remain focused on the company objectives and stay aloof
from making it personal.
Have a nice weekend!
