wai Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Hi ENA, I'm really bad at playing office politics and I think it's beneathe me but eventually I decided it's very necessary to change the dynamic of day to day life at work. Can any one suggest me a book, blogs, or anything that I can do to improve my office politics skill? Thank you in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generation Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 What exactly do you mean by bad at playing office politics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkelephant Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I don't have a book in mind, but the best piece of advice I've been given: Keep your mouth shut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartGoesOn Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Stay away from politics and religion, and most of all keep your personal life private. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capricorn3 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I second pinkelephant and HeartGoesOn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snny Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I get what you're saying. Two ways to avoid office politics: 1. Don't be a complainer. Everyone will notice/hear about it and it draws negative attention to only yourself. It's the fastest way to get a poor reputation. 2. Avoid personal chats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happpybear Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 definitely keep your personal life (sex, love, dating etc) too yourself. you can still briefly mention stuff like "i had a date on the weekend" blah blah, just don;t go into details and don't sort out your personal life problems with coworkers, tell that stuff to your friends and family. You don;t wanna look like a mute either though, chat about the news (yes politics, but no heated debates), sports, weather, books, hobbies, personal philosophies, joke around. DO NOT talk about other coworkers unless it is in a good way, and if someone else starts gossiping or talking trash about a colleague, just shut your mouth, listen but don't participate. It's hard do draw the line sometimes, because you see these people everyday and some of them yu will likely become quite close too, but at the end of the day, you are there to work, chit chat helps keep things less mundane, but keep the juicy stuff to yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wai Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 Thanks for your reply everyone. The thing is I'm too good at keeping my mouth shut. I'm worried they would think I'm not friendly. One of my co-worker, he's been with the company for about 20 years now. He's my neighbour too. He has a big mouth and he's too blunt about everything. Other than that, he's a good guy. I would say. I told him how nice it would be if I had my own office and he said it's for directors. I can see you becoming a manager but not a director, you're not good at politics. It hurt my feeling pretty bad yesterday that I couldn't sleep last night. He also said, you work really hard but you need to play politic too. Otherwise, people won't notice you. You need to kiss your boss ass first then, working hard comes second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hers Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 At my job we had a manager who was a whiz at all things finances. She really saved our clinic a lot of money. But she wasn't very friendly. She wasn't mean but she, like you, didn't make it a point to get involved with others. She was fired for "failure to integrate". She was amazing at her job, but she was seen as unfriendly bc she didn't display any emotion (good or bad) to others. That was a red flag to the corporation. I liked her and thought she was nice but could see their point too. So yea you do have to be involved in the politics in some way but there's a good cut line that you can ride, which is doing what others have suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LillyLooWho Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 She was fired for "failure to integrate". Failure to integrate?! Are you kidding me? Wow... I think there must have been something else going on. How can you be fantastic at your job and get fired because you are quiet? just dumb in my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wai Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 Failure to integrate?! Are you kidding me? Wow... I think there must have been something else going on. How can you be fantastic at your job and get fired because you are quiet? just dumb in my opinion I think it's possible because at my current job, I see a lot of hard working people not getting promoted and I see people who kiss their boss's ass getting all kinds of favor plus they're not very good at their job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LillyLooWho Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 I think it's possible because at my current job, I see a lot of hard working people not getting promoted and I see people who kiss their boss's ass getting all kinds of favor plus they're not very good at their job. Ok, I can see not getting promoted but FIRED? Come on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizzie2011 Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Hi ENA, I'm really bad at playing office politics and I think it's beneathe me but eventually I decided it's very necessary to change the dynamic of day to day life at work. Can any one suggest me a book, blogs, or anything that I can do to improve my office politics skill? Thank you in advance I understand what your friend is saying. You have to know who you are where you are and what you want. If all you want to do is get by then hold your head down and don't rock the boat. If you want to move from where you are now to Director then you have to take risks. The fact of the matter is that if you want to get promoted then people have to know who you are. Part of that, depending on your job, is for those in authority to know who you are on a personal level and know where your loyalties lie. I don't think anyone is going to put you in a key position just because you're a good worker. there are several good workers out there right now who are NEVER going to be promoted over a certain level. Think about it. If you're an interviewer and some person you trust says "hire that guy and you won't regret it" and you're dealing with 100 applicants you don't know, which one would you hire? You're gonna hire the guy who came recommended! If you play politics well then nobody should be able to recognise that's what you're doing. You have to use your own strengths. If you and the boss share an interest like sports then play that to your advantage and create a bond between the two of you. It can be anything. Whatever you do, don't be fake. People can sense that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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