“Workplace Poker — Are You Playing the Game or Just Getting Played” by Dan Rust (Harper Business, $25.99).
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“Workplace Poker — Are You Playing the Game or Just Getting Played” by Dan Rust (Harper Business, $25.99).
Hard work and talent aren't enough to get ahead. You have to learn how to play office politics (OP), the “game within the game.” To many, OP means backstabbing, gossiping and playing the blame game. To Rust, it means staying true to your values while creating interdependent relationships through an understanding of the company's business model — and the ability to toot your own horn without blowing it.
Those who successfully climb a career ladder view their job descriptions as the foundation of a make-it-happen plan. It details the “what,” but not the “how.” They understand that it's the “how” that sets them apart from others just as talented.
As I read the many stories of “how,” I recalled mine: I was in the Ford Motor's college graduate training program along with several newly minted MBAs. My first manager asked for a volunteer from his group of newbies to write departmental procedures. Writing procedures wasn't the glamorous job a new MBA envisioned. Only one hand went up, mine. Why? I understood the game within the game. Writing procedures would allow me to interact with peers, managers and executives in other departments whose operations were affected. I would learn the organization's business model from various perspectives, and people would get to know me.
As I rotated through other areas, I was given front-burner projects because I knew how things worked and the people who made them work. Over time, part of my brand became “dot connector.” You won't find that in a job description.
The bottom line: “Those who claim to 'hate' office politics are really just frustrated because they suck at it.”
