People are driven by some purpose in their life to achieve something and having the right mindset is the key to achieve it.
The organisation in which they work just becomes a vehicle to fulfil their dreams which inturn benefits the company.
People in the organisation also play a major role to achieve something, they can either propel you to success sooner or can curb your growth. When things are not happening smoothly that is when the workplace politics come in to play.
Over the years, businesses and professionals have seen so many negative effects of organizational politics that it is among the most blamed words in the corporate world today. It touches every person in an organization and is beaten for all the wrong things happening to an individual in an organisation.
What are the organisations doing to curb this or are they accepting this is a difficult question to answer.
An article in peoplematters.in categorises the employees in three categories.
First is the competent people who are very well versed with their subject and eager to learn. They have the right attitude towards getting the work done from their team. These types of people grow in the organisation through their competence, both technical as well as managerial.
Next is the relationship people who have mastered the art of building relationships. They know how to strike the right chord with people, connect with them, nurture the relationships, and build a high level of trust with people.
The strong tie of their relationship with others in the organization often forces people to see their point of view with a positive bias. Being good in relationship developments gives a better negotiation power with higher management.
The last category is the sponsored people who play the power dynamics. They try to get themselves associated with the people who can help them grow. If, along with sponsorship, they are competent then they become the most sought after category in the organization. This combination gives them the capability and influence which can make them create an impact and redefine the future of the organisation.
If the governing mechanism is done by any of these three categories then there won't be any problem, however challenge starts arising when the people who are not in these groups come into play. These inbetweeners start defining control and governance mechanism as per their hidden agenda and benefit, which is mainly to survive in the ecosystem. In the absence of strong capabilities, relationship forming power, or influence on decision-makers, these people often resort to tactics, manipulation, and gossip to get their way.
There is hardly any professional in the world who does not have to deal with politics and it is better to identify which category you fall into and do the same for your subordinates and peers.
After identifying the categories we must help them to reach their true potential. Once people realize that they can grow in the organization without taking part in politics, then the scenario would be quite different.
