How to Rise Above Office Politics and get the recognition you deserve
Introduction
Office politics is brutal — it saps the soul out of people and turns them into monsters. Or, it leaves the good people in the lurch while the politicians continue to claim credit. It doesn’t have to be that way. And that’s what The Office Matters is built upon.
There are 5 Be’s to Rise Above Office Politics, which are the 5 steps that one needs to develop oneself to beat office politicians without losing their souls. In fact, your authenticity and your abilities will be to your advantage when you Rise Above Office Politics.
Let’s dive straight into the 5 Be’s.
Overview
The 5 Be’s is a step by step process for you to diagnose the situation (Be Aware), build the relevant skills (Be Confident), manage underlying conflicts (Be Heard), win over stakeholders (Be Valued) and gain positive reputation (Be Recognised) while being true to yourself.
By mastering each Be, you’ll be able to identify what’s happening and manoeuvre around the office politics and be recognised for the value you bring by those involved. The most important ingredients in all 5 Be’s is authenticity and empathy. These two ingredients would allow you to overcome the politicians’ influence and get what you deserve.
And that’s what we’ll be sharing with you — the how’s of Rising Above Office Politics.
Be Aware
The first step to managing any situations is accurate diagnosis. By knowing how and why things happen, you’ll be able to see a clearer roadmap of what is being done.
All office politics begin with prioritising personal needs above all else. Which means that someone or a group of people are more interested in their own interests than for the collective. There is always a lacking of empathy and bigger picture in this scenario.
Is it because they lack ability to understand another’s point of view?
Is it because they are feeling insecure?
Is it because they have other ways of working?
These questions will be answered through the processes of Being Aware.
Be Confident
In order for anyone to take the next steps, confidence must be instilled in them. The key to confidence is knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses and knowing how to manage situations with them.
Through identifying and knowing how to communicate your strengths and weaknesses, you can gain confidence to manage situations and how to work things to your advantage — all while being authentic and empathetic.
This foundation is critical to Rising Above Office Politics in various scenarios.
What skills do you currently have?
What skills would you need to learn?
What resources to you have at your disposal?
As you delve into these questions, you’ll start realising that you know a lot more than you think you know. And that will strengthen your cause and direction.
Be Heard
The core of all miscommunication is an unwillingness to deal with conflicts. Direct, honest confrontations are difficult in a society where people prefer listening to sweet lies than brutal truths. However, truths don’t have to be brutal.
When you have empathy on where a person is coming from, their motivations and what they’re looking for, it is possible to go into confrontations without creating massive emotional outbursts. Instead, confrontations are often the means of resolving underlying conflicts that happen in the office.
To Be Heard, one has to show understand the conflict and the other person’s point of view.
One also has to develop the language to communicate effectively.
And one has to stand firm to be able to manage the conflicts.
That is where we can lead to the next Be…
Be Valued
Only through being heard can people Be Valued. By having conversations with stakeholders that matter, by creating authentic connection with them, developing trust with one another, will you be able to showcase your value. And from there, you can Be Valued for the contribution you bring to the organisation.
The core of this Be is the ability to recognise what people care most about:
Is it being understood?
Is it creating results?
Is it doing things their way?
By understanding and nudging what the stakeholders are looking for, it is possible to Be Valued by each stakeholder and create strong relationships and trust. And through repeated processes of this, you’ll Be Recognised.
Be Recognised
When you have done enough rounds of building relationships with the stakeholders, eventually you will Be Recognised by the people if they have clear understanding of your contributions and your strengths.
Reputation is built from the individual relationships leading to people having awareness and recognition of your abilities and strengths. And at the step, it is about making things clear as to what are your strengths and abilities.
If people were to sum you up in a sentence, what would it be?
If people were to recognise your key strengths, what would they be?
If you get to choose what people remember you for, what would it be?
This allows you to create clarity for others to remember you by and to develop a personal branding that people will be able to share about you with the people out there.
Now that you’ve learnt the 5 Be’s, do arrange a session with us below with Calendly to talk about this and understand how you can use the 5 Be’s to your advantage.
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