Help! I avoid office politics
A reader in her 30s writes: I started working for my friend’s trading family business right after graduation. The owners (her parents) are generous. My friend is a doctor who is not involved in the day-to-day. In the future she wants me to run the business because she trusts me.
At first, I was thrilled but now I’m not sure. I started in IT, my major. Then I was given HR tasks. I like IT, but I don’t like dealing with the other employees. It’s easier to work on my own rather than rely on others. But now the boss also wants me to take charge of finance. I’m good in math so they think I’m also good with money.
I can be the head, but I don’t want to be the boss of the people there. I hate their office politics. My friend told me to ignore it. She also promised a substantial pay raise. What do I do?
My reply
I commend you for the great job you’ve been doing, and like your friend, I am confident that you can manage more leadership roles.
As for your preferences, I can sympathize, because I myself started my career just wanting to be in the classroom, which meant turning down administrative positions.
But through the decades, I have found myself advising leaders on various issues, working behind the scenes even without a formal position, taking on momentous responsibilities way beyond what I signed up for.
I prefer to just surround myself with math and discuss with students its utility and elegance. But the world is not ideal, and because I care for students, I have waded into the maelstrom of mental health, teacher training, parent seminars, etc. Unwittingly, I might at times have touched on turf politics, which I try to avoid, but I find myself taking difficult stances sometimes, with student welfare foremost in my mind and heart.
I am fortunate to have colleagues who are superb at (and actually enjoy) administration, and who know they can count on my support at all times.
Because of your track record, you have taken on more responsibilities. You’ve also encountered office politics, even if you hate it.
You are a middle manager, neither the owner up high nor the staff below. According to UK business consultant Jo Owen, the middle is the toughest place to be.
When you were starting out, your IT tasks were clear. Owen describes entry-level tasks in Today’s Manager as: “Work hard to achieve the goals you have been given and learn the technical skills of your job.”
Now in middle management, you need to adapt.
“If you carry on like that in the middle, you will fail. The job of the leader is not to make things happen alone: it is to make things happen through other people…That means learning new skills: you may still use the craft skills but the skills that really set you apart are managing people well.”
You don’t want to lord it over the others. You shouldn’t. But you need to delegate and to mentor, to bolster others’ strengths and to help them manage weaknesses.
Because you do not seek personal power, you are likely the best to lead.
“Political skills are not just about career management and stabbing your colleagues in the back,” says Owen. “If you do that…you will acquire many enemies and soon find yourself isolated. Politics is the very essence of how any business works: aligning agendas, deciding priorities, and allocating resources. This is where you find collaboration and competition with your peers exist side-by-side.”
Have a candid discussion with your friend and her parents about politics. Be upfront (direct but kind) with peers whom you feel might cause problems, and motivate them to support you, the family, and the business.
Politics can be tiresome, but if you are clear about your priorities, you will do well.
