8 Leadership Tips for Navigating Office Politics

Are you a leader whose efforts to create a positive workplace culture are being stymied by negative office politics? Need some Workplace Coaching?

Whether you’ve just stepped into a leadership role or you’re a longtime leader struggling with chronic power dynamics, managing office politics is a necessary part of your job. Following are top leadership tips from The Workplace Coach to help you navigate office politics skillfully.

1. Be transparent. Share information about key decisions, plans and potential developments with your team so they see you as a credible source of information. This will also minimize the spread of unfounded rumors that tend to circulate in the absence of reliable information.
2. Build trusting relationships. Develop rapport with your team members by engaging with them often, both via informal interactions and at scheduled meetings. Ask questions. Listen to their concerns. Be responsive to feedback and 360 Feedback Assessment. And, most importantly, stay human!
3. Communicate effectively. Be clear and concise in your messaging and keep the lines of communication open.
4. Empower your people. Nurture leadership at all levels by giving your team members autonomy and control. When employees feel a sense of ownership, not only will they be less likely to engage in office politics, they will take the lead in interrupting or redirecting negative talk.
5. Lead by example. Your behavior sets the tone for the rest of your team, so it’s important to be upbeat in your demeanor (but without sugarcoating reality). Be consistent in your words and actions. Treat employees at all levels with the utmost respect. And always make ethical choices.
6. Embrace the principle of self-leadership for yourself and for your team. Cultivate your own self-awareness and encourage your team members to do the same. This involves getting clear about your values and your strengths and weaknesses and developing emotional intelligence (EQ).
7. Stay ahead of negative office politics and avoid power struggles. Identify potential issues early on and address them before they escalate. Rather than taking sides in conflicts, focus on finding solutions. Get the buy-in and engagement of team members by soliciting and respecting their input.
8. When stepping into a new leadership position, take time to figure out where you fit. Are you responsible for setting vision and priorities or is it your job to communicate and implement the vision and priorities of higher-ups? Identify key players and make a point to understand their goals and motivations. Use your insights to build common ground.

At The Workplace Coach, we understand that navigating office politics can be really tricky, especially if you’re walking into a toxic situation as a leader. In our experience, the most successful leaders use their influence skillfully but also sparingly. They form strategic alliances, by building relationships up, down and across the organization.

ABOUT THE WORKPLACE COACH: For more than two decades, The Workplace Coach has partnered successfully with executive coaching clients and leadership coaching clients and organizations to help them achieve their strategic goals. Leadership coaching clients report success in developing their leadership mindset and executive presence and in using leader-as-coach skills to drive employee engagement and productivity. You can also be a part of Leadership program!

Contact The Workplace Coach today to equip your senior leaders for the challenges ahead.