HRD 4.02

Page 42

FEATURES

OFFICE POLITICS

Seven things your CEO won’t tell you about office politics Subtle or blatant, office politics are bound to occur in every organization. Cindy Tonkin provides an insightful guide to navigating political pitfalls at work

OFFICE POLITICS. You want to think they don’t exist, but they do. When I tell clients that I help others navigate the rocky shoals of the politics in organizations, a very large percentage of them say, “I don’t play politics.” The very woman who first engaged me to train her staff in political acumen told me she didn’t play politics. And yet politics are important. Very few people believe they are playing, but they are. There are so many injuries, a flawed leaderboard and retired ballplayers ready to jump back in and get their hands dirty again. It’s a game we can’t help but watch.

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Here are seven things your CEO won’t tell you about office politics – and seven things you are better off knowing.

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They are everywhere

Politics are everywhere. They exist because we care. While movies and TV would have us believe the contrary, people who care don’t just breed happy families and kind workplaces. They also breed unhappy families and unkind workplaces. The issue is in caring. I’m not saying you shouldn’t care. You should. You just need to be in an organization

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