{"id":2660,"date":"2018-05-13T04:15:24","date_gmt":"2018-05-12T20:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baileybalfour.com\/?p=2660"},"modified":"2021-08-12T14:47:01","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T06:47:01","slug":"political-savvy-and-authenticity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileybalfour.com\/political-savvy-and-authenticity\/","title":{"rendered":"Political Savvy and Authenticity"},"content":{"rendered":"
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.4.1″ width=”100%” max_width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.4.1″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.1″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/baileybalfour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/B6B.jpg” _builder_version=”4.4.1″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.4.1″ width=”90%”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.1″][et_pb_post_title comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.4.1″ title_line_height=”1.2em” width=”100%” max_width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false”][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.4.1″ width=”90%”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.1″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.1″ text_text_color=”#333333″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.75em”]<\/p>\n
It\u2019s quite rare to find people, men and women, who feel thrilled at the opportunity of engaging in office politics.<\/span><\/p>\n From my experience, the most common way in which people deal with office politics is denial \u2013 bury your head in the sand and hope it would go away. Even if they can\u2019t help noticing it, they would rather not \u201cdo\u201d it, whatever \u201cdoing it\u201d means. Often in coaching, when suggesting that it would be good to listen to the political channels in one\u2019s organisation and try to see how to navigate on that level, many people don\u2019t know where to start.<\/span><\/p>\n The impression people have of the politically savvy person is based on the few individuals who are cunning and out for themselves. In their minds, it is associated with manipulation and it is the opposite of being authentic at work.<\/span><\/p>\n I just got back from a trip to Asia where I was speaking about the topic of political savvy. First to Norton Rose Fulbright\u2019s women network in Hong Kong and then at an INSEAD Alumni group in Singapore. Many participants found the topic interesting and relevant for their careers. Some of them continued talking about it after I was done with my talk.<\/span><\/p>\n So what do we mean by organisational politics? In her book\u00a0I wish I\u2019d known that earlier in my career<\/em>,\u00a0Jane Horan<\/a>\u00a0writes, \u201cbeing savvy is about understanding the unwritten rules about how organisations work, to sell ideas and for career growth\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n The reality is that unless we engage with organisational politics it is hard for us to be as good as we can be in our current roles. It is also harder for us to progress our careers. So the question is about how can we be political in a way that is authentic for us?<\/span><\/p>\n I think that we can be politically savvy at work and still be\u00a0authentic<\/a>. It\u2019s not mutually exclusive and in fact you can argue that it\u2019s two sides of the same coin.<\/span><\/p>\n People who are good at politics in an ethical way demonstrate a few key characteristics.<\/span><\/p>\n It is sometimes surprising to see how the truly politically savvy are nothing like the stereotype of the manipulative colleague. In coaching we often encourage our clients to draw the political map of their organisation. This is a fairly simple exercise that can reveal a very different map than the \u2018formal\u2019 organisational map that everyone knows. The more authentic you are and the more aware you are of the political map of your organisation \u2013 the more influential you are in your organisation.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#f1f1f1″ custom_margin=”40px||||false|false” global_module=”5225″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/baileybalfour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Jean-Balfour-Web-profile.jpg” alt=”Jean Balfour ICF Accredited Professional Coach and Managing Director of Bailey Balfour” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ width=”150px” max_width=”150px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”10px||||false|false” border_radii=”on|100px|100px|100px|100px” locked=”off”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_team_member name=”Jean Balfour” position=”Founder & Programmes Director” icon_color=”#cc6a7c” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||true|false” border_radii_image=”on|50%|50%|50%|50%” locked=”off”]<\/p>\n Singapore<\/p>\n <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_team_member][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true”]<\/p>\n\n
About the Author<\/span><\/h3>\n