It s about Power, Silly | How to Shine at Work

It’s about Power, Silly

With mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, and corporate compression, there are even fewer spots available for advancement; office politics is about power, and the competition is fierce. Some career experts offer advice on how to become politically powerful by generating fear in others, complete with instructions on fear-inducing topics to discuss at meetings, what type of eyeglasses to wear, what type of clothing to buy, what desk accessories to display, and what fountain pen to use when signing letters. Remember the 1980s? This type of power was popular then and continues to be popular in some circles today, and it is that greed-power-win orientation that has resulted in a series of giant corporate implosions. The CEOs of these organizations had reputations for blasting through whatever—or whoever—was in the way: They had power. They have experienced financial success at the expense of others, but their personal fulfillment is difficult to ascertain in the chaos of criminal investigations.

There are at least three choices that you can make in a politically charged management culture:

You can choose to capitulate and become one of the Machiavellian power-hungry (at what expense needs to be determined by you—my experience with this style was not comfortable for me, or for anyone who knew me!).
You can choose to hide and do your best to stay under the radar. (Doing nothing is a choice—not a life-fulfilling choice, but a choice nonetheless.)
You can choose to operate from a platform of integrity, shifting the focus to ethical leadership or authentic power. (This choice changed my life.)

Authentic Power

If you shift your focus from trying to generate fear and manipulate the current political-power system to creating and maintaining a leadership culture based on an ethical foundation, then you will be responsible for finding effective, pragmatic solutions to problems, while demonstrating trust, commitment, and values that are shared with those who are led. Ethical leaders are responsible for creating a culture that moves the company and all of its employees forward—and in which politicking is no longer required.

From the two action options given earlier, choose the brand of power you will use—politicized power or ethical leadership—not on the basis of what is currently going on in your workplace, but more appropriately on the basis of who you are and what you want. By defining success for yourself, your life, and your career, by becoming aware of the culture and style of the organization in which you wish to evolve, by identifying the political structures that are being displayed and those who are displaying them, and by making some smart choices, you can be both professionally successful and personally fulfilled.

Shifting to Ethical Leadership

Every work situation on the planet exposes you to the complexities of human relationships, including trust, credibility, communication, conflict, influence, and motivation (yours and theirs). How you as a senior manager handle problems, influence people, and deal with the pace of your environment and with the rules and procedures set by others is only one element of your style, political tendencies, and cultural fit. You must also understand how other people use their style.

In the following examples, we will investigate the four basic styles—dominant, influential, steady, and conforming—from both the Machiavellian power player (MPP) and the authentic power (AP) perspectives. You will notice that while both may have the same basic style (drawn from Marston’s work, referred to in Chapter 3), the difference is in how they leverage what they have. Read the description of each style, and use the strategies listed to leverage what you have in your situation.

The Dominant Style If you work with or for a decisive, ambitious, and pioneering individual, you are dealing with someone with a dominant style. These people love to lead; they want authority and results (from themselves and from those who report to them). They treasure freedom from control, supervision, and details. They love variety: new programs, projects, and ideas.

MPP: As the need for power and authority overrides the value of collaboration, people with this style can appear abrasive, pushy, demanding, quick to anger, impatient, and egocentric.
AP: When a desire to deliver results supersedes any need for power, people with this style are more likely to appear determined, inquisitive, fast-paced, results-oriented, and responsible.

If You Are Dealing with an Individual Exhibiting the Dominant Style Remember that both the MPP and the AP with this style are motivated by others who verbalize assertively, display energetic effort, provide direct answers, accept feedback, seek new challenges, and work independently. What is different between the MPP and AP is the way in which each generates and responds to support and followership: The needs-driven behavior of the MPP will appear demanding, fear-inducing, and win/lose, whereas the values-based behavior of the AP will appear encouraging, motivating, and win/win.

Tips for Dealing with an Individual with a Dominant Style

Stick to business; be clear, specific, and to the point. Don’t waste the person’s time by wandering off the point or engaging in idle chitchat.
Provide opportunities for a win/win situation; don’t back someone with a dominant style into a corner.
Whenever possible, prepare your case well in advance of speaking with a person with a dominant style. Avoid speculation; keep your support material or backup documentation handy, but use them only when asked.
Always present your case to someone with a dominant style in logical order—gaping loopholes, fuzzy logic, and disorganization will probably generate a negative reaction.
When you disagree with someone with a dominant style, clearly convey that you are taking issue with the facts, not with the person.
Set boundaries for yourself, and be prepared to enforce them. An MPP can easily go into intimidation mode and become abrasive and pushy, so be prepared to redirect those efforts by enforcing your strong boundaries. Refer to Chapter 2 for a review of setting and enforcing boundaries.

If You Exhibit MPP Tendencies in the Dominant Style, Try the Following Tips

Calmness. Waiting patiently is not a normal behavior for a highly dominant, highly political individual. To exercise patience, you must choose to be composed (rather than agitated), to show kindness (despite having to wait), and to recognize that other people’s time and effort are equally as important as yours.
Empathy. Understanding, compassion, and apologies are not easily offered by a highly dominant, highly political individual. To shift into a more empathetic style, first engage your self-awareness skills: Notice the effect of your style (abrupt, negative, or irritated) on others. Then offer an explanation and an apology: “I’m sorry, I was much more abrupt than I had intended—let me rephrase.” The belief you must hold in order for this to be authentic is that people respect, appreciate, and are loyal to those who acknowledge the impact of their words and actions, whereas people fear and distrust those who demand.
Enjoyment. A highly dominant, highly political person can miss life’s best pleasures because he or she does not know how to relax. Taking pleasure in life by relaxing—and celebrating—is an integral part of personal fulfillment. In an effort to push ahead, MPPs may not only ignore their own successes, but disregard the successes of the team as well. If you have just finished a huge project, put your feet up and feel the relief, or create a way to celebrate your win. When a colleague or subordinate reaches a milestone, take the time to acknowledge it and celebrate with that person. Enjoying a sense of satisfaction provides renewal so that you can move ahead, and creates an environment of motivation for others.
Try shifting out of politics and into ethical leadership by showing understanding, listening to others without interruption, increasing your followership skills (allowing you to become one of the group rather than over and above), and accepting responsibility and accountability for your words and actions.

The Influential Style Highly influential people want popularity and social recognition. What makes these folks shine is any opportunity to be creative. Experiencing variety, having the freedom to speak, and having plenty of people to associate with are hallmarks of someone with an influential style. If you are looking for detail orientation, you have come to the wrong place. These are strategists with big-picture ideas.

MPP: As the need for social recognition becomes paramount, a political influencer can appear overenthusiastic, superficial, and often forceful in her or his attempts to get you to go along with her or his way of thinking.
AP: With personal needs taken care of, people with this style are more likely to appear persuasive, inspirational, magnetic, trusting, and trustworthy.

If You Are Dealing with an Individual Exhibiting the Influential Style Remember that both the MPP and the AP with this style are motivated by others who openly express their opinions, demonstrate good-natured optimism, project personal warmth, appear poised and self-confident, and willingly cooperate and collaborate. The MPP will be more self-promoting (possibly taking credit for others’ successes), overextended (but rarely taking responsibility for missed deadlines), and driven by a need to be liked. The AP will leverage his or her natural tendencies toward interaction and socializing with healthy, realistic optimism, checking first to understand others, then to be understood, and working to draw out alternative perspectives when making decisions. Where an MPP may make multiple, often unrealistic, commitments as a way of gaining support and approval, APs make only commitments that they know they can keep.

Tips for Dealing with an Individual with an Influential Style

Allow time to break the ice; don’t be abrupt or impersonal.
Ask for the person’s opinion and discuss goals; don’t drive too hard on facts or tasks.
Plan to discuss actions that support the person’s goals and intentions; don’t stifle her or his contributions.
Keep your interaction fast-moving and fun, and provide ideas for implementing action; don’t waste time.
Put details of your discussions in writing; don’t leave decisions up in the air.

If You Exhibit MPP Tendencies in the Influential Style, Try the Following Tips

Sincerity. Be direct in relating your concerns to others, and use a no-nonsense approach. Avoid overpromising or making too many commitments, overinflating the seriousness (or the triviality) of any issue, or using convincing, cajoling, or seducing methods to get people to see things your way. Speak genuinely; how you say it is more important than what you say.
Purpose-filled. Insist that work be judged by high standards, not by the popularity of the worker. Identify an accepted standard of operation, and use it—published, objective standards are a strong foundation for goal development and a basis for evaluating others in an unbiased and principled way.
Trust. When people are working with or for someone who appears superficial in his or her style, that style negates any sense of trust. If you overpromise and underdeliver or if you operate from an unrealistically optimistic platform, you will not be seen as dependable, reliable, truthful, or inspiring. Work to meet your time obligations by underpromising and overdelivering. Be authentic when providing critiques of events and ideas, using facts as a basis for disagreements.
Try shifting to the ethical side of the influential style by doing what is right, rather than focusing on being seen as the good guy. Be accountable, assume responsibility for yourself and your work, and follow through. Pay attention to the details, meet the demands of others with clear, concise answers, and use common sense—apply your no-nonsense, practical approach to delivering results.

The Steady Style Individuals with this style want security. If change is required, they want plenty of time to adjust to it. They stick with tradition and the status quo (the way things have always been done) when working on projects and processes and in their relationships, both at work and at home.

MPP: Because of a natural aversion to change, people with this style often avoid the struggle for power. When they do, though, you may see passive-aggressive tendencies (saying yes and meaning no), with a fundamental resistance to anything different, outwardly masked by apathy. Since the biggest fear is not being appreciated, the political player with this style may seem duplicitous as he or she attempts to balance the need to be accommodating with the desire for stability.
AP: With needs and ego issues out of the way, leaders with this style will appear relaxed, patient, and steady, with a sincere appreciation of people and processes, an understanding of change (still allowing for time to process the change), and great listening, calming, and planning skills.

If You Are Dealing with an Individual Exhibiting the Steady Style Remember that both the MPP and the AP with this style will be motivated by others who stick to their convictions and are conscientious, principled, and persistent. An MPP will appear aloof and apathetic, resistant to change, and suspicious, while an AP will encourage others in an effort to gain cooperation, work to accept necessary change, and stay in balance (and control), even under pressure.

Tips for Dealing with an Individual with a Steady Style

Use an icebreaker to open your discussion; show your genuine interest in the person as a person; don’t rush too quickly into business or into your agenda.
Be patient, draw out the person’s ideas, and listen carefully. Don’t force the person to offer a fast response to your ideas, and don’t interrupt the person when he or she is speaking.
Provide appropriate assurances; don’t promise something that you cannot deliver.
Watch and listen for what’s just under the surface, and ask questions; don’t mistake the person’s willingness to follow as an indication of satisfaction or agreement.
If a decision is required, allow the person time to process (think). Don’t force a quick decision.

If You Exhibit MPP Tendencies in the Steady Style, Try the Following Tips

Say no. This is a basic decisiveness issue. Learn how to say no in order to give yourself more control over your life and your career. Try refusing an invitation with firmness and grace. Try declining a request to take on additional work without feeling guilty. Saying no does not make you any less accommodating; it does make you more responsible and in control.
Spontaneity. Being intense and focused is admirable, until it runs your life. Being carefree is an art—you want to learn how to let go in a safe setting by taking an opportunity to say what you feel. To make this work, you have to let your self-censor take a vacation so that you can promote your relaxed and unstructured side.
Delegate. It is hard to entrust important work to someone who may not complete the task in the same manner you would—especially when it would take less time to do it yourself. The problem is, though, that failing to delegate work (all the way to micromanaging) creates distrust in good employees, while allowing mediocre employees to just show up and get a paycheck without taking any responsibility for learning and delivering results. Again tied to a need to be accommodating, for people with this style, the fear of not meeting specific requirements is second only to the fear of the unknown. Change your mantra to “efforts are to be shared equally,” and commit to the care of others what is often expected of you.
Try shifting to the ethical side of this style by demonstrating your independence, individuality, inventiveness, determination, objectivity, self-satisfaction, self-directedness, and courage.

The Conforming Style Individuals with this style want to know that they are doing a good job and doing things right. They are drawn to policies and procedures, and will follow those that have been established (or create them when none exist). They work well alone, have high expectations for themselves and others, are incredibly organized and analytical, and are self-competitive.

MPP: Because of their “Lone Ranger” approach, people with this style are rarely seen in the highly charged political arena. When they are at the upper levels, though, their need to comply with authority may override the value they place on quality, security, or accuracy, and you may see people with this style become overly critical (minimizing those who respond emotionally), dependent on standard operating procedures, and perfectionist, putting others on the defensive.
AP: With a sense of balance, people with this style will set high standards for themselves and subordinates, yet allow for learning (mistakes) and growth. They will demonstrate conscientiousness, weigh their actions against stated goals, provide order, and assume an investigative role when problem solving, proving their spirit of experimentation.

If You Are Dealing with an Individual Exhibiting the Conforming Style Remember that people with this style are motivated by others who maintain a direct course of action, are practical about costs and operations, offer meaningful facts, demonstrate clear, concise reasoning, and have an ability to plan well. While the MPP will relate to others in an evasive, critical, and worrisome way, an AP will respond in a diplomatic, tactful, open-minded way.

Tips for Dealing with an Individual with a Conforming Style

Provide people with this style with sufficient information and time to enable them to process the decision they need to make. Don’t try to convince them or “sell” them on your idea.
If you disagree with them, use data, facts, and testimonials from respected people. Don’t fall back on personal opinion or feelings as evidence.
Prepare your case in advance, and be linear in your presentation; don’t be too personal or informal.
Use an “action plan,” scheduling dates and objectives. Don’t overpromise results; err on the side of conservatism.

If You Exhibit MPP Tendencies in the Conforming Style, Try the Following Tips

Self-esteem. People with this style tend to be overly critical of themselves and others, indicating a self-esteem deficiency. Try building your self-esteem and self-respect by doing the following:
- Identify your personal qualities, that is, those things about you, the skills you have learned, and the skills you are developing. Focus on your potential and your values.
- Change to positive self-talk (how you think about and talk to yourself). Stop condemning your faults—change what you can, and leverage what you cannot change.
- Don’t try to measure your value by using someone else’s yardstick. Self-esteem is home grown.
- Focus on your accomplishments; congratulate yourself on achievements, whether large or small. Each day, remind yourself of the things you do well, and of the courage you have shown.
- Establish realistic goals, and learn from failure. If you have setbacks, allow yourself to become a problem solver.
- Visualize success. Mentally rehearse succeeding in everything you do before you do it.
Feedback. Take criticism in stride—do not take it personally, and do not strike back. Keep your eye on the goal of quality, and seek out constructive suggestions. Make your daily affirmation one of “personal toughness is directed sensitivity.”
Analysis paralysis. Move from planning to doing—act on the facts that you have, and prepare to alter your course if and when new information appears. Moderate caution is wise; excessive caution wears down your confidence by preventing you from having the opportunity to learn by doing.
Try shifting to the ethical side of this style by questioning the rules; by being candid, yet respectful; by being less of a perfectionist; by being more respectful of others’ efforts, ideas, and beliefs; and by being collaborative.

Staying Out of Hot Water

Now that you know yourself and the political behaviors in your current work environment, it is time to learn how to avoid the negative consequences associated with the dangerous side of the power-hungry. The first step is to recognize that at the senior level, your job focus changes from largely internal to partly or mostly external. As you speak to outside groups, vendors, or clients at the senior levels, your interpersonal skills will be equally as important as your presentation skills and your ability to interact effectively with the political structures of other companies and organizations. As you build the trust of your employer and your colleagues, you will also build the trust of external executives.

Another thing for ethical leaders to focus on is generating a decision-making process, especially at the senior levels, that is more collegial than independent. While this helps to avoid surprises, it is also an opportunity to build in collaboration, responsibility, and accountability. Remember, too, as we saw in The Godfather, “Never go against the family in public”—that is, never contradict your boss, your company, or corporate initiatives in a public setting. If you disagree with a decision or an initiative, the place to discuss it is within your offices, not in public. If the decision with which you disagree is illegal or immoral, review your standards, boundaries, and values, and deal with it. If the decision represents an operational or practical difference of opinion, however, discuss it inside and support it outside. If you are unable to do this, you are in the wrong job.