How To Ace The Game

Contrary to conventional wisdom, workplace politics is not necessarily a bad thing. Coaching experts share how politics can be navigated in a constructive way to advance personal and corporate goals, while enhancing self-development.

- Grace Ma

When Huiying (not her real name) was hired as a rookie manager at an SME with only two years of working experience, she felt inadequate and was eager to quickly establish her authority over her department, which included staff with more years of working experience.

She says: “I inadvertently stepped on a few toes and hurt feelings with my brash, rigid style. I ticked anyone off for not meeting standards without understanding the challenges they were facing. Soon, I found myself being isolated at lunch, and faced increasing resistance to improve efficiency. On top of that, I had to navigate my way around the nebulous standards of accountability in upper management.

“At first, I went head on and told them off (which, in hindsight, was very hot-headed and clueless of me). Along the way, I learnt how to be more empathetic, and became wiser. I got to know my team better both professionally and personally, enquired about their family, and often asked those with more experience for their advice, which made them feel appreciated, and reiterated that I wasn’t trying to one-up them. With upper management, I made sure I copied the relevant people on e-mails so they could see how I value-added to a project.”

Huiying might not have understood it then – but her learning curve demonstrated the value of “playing politics” in the workplace. Many of us would have experienced politics in the workplace. More often than not, it would be a negative experience of a colleague’s actions to advance his or her career, seemingly at the expense of others.

POLITICS IS NOT NECESSARILY BAD