Office Politics – Does it have an impact on your results?
Posted by Sitkins Advisor on Mon, Aug 16, 2010 @ 07:55 AM
The conflict of different ideas, different personalities and an overall competitive atmosphere seems to cultivate office politics. It is a part of every organization and usually the bigger the organization the bigger the office drama becomes.
Some leaders take the highroad and hope that it will work itself out. Unfortunately, by doing nothing it can have a great impact on office morale as well as the business results.
Research tells us that managers believe that an increase in office politics is one of the greatest sources of their stress. Recent studies have also told us that 18% of management time is spent resolving conflicts among employees.
When employees are in conflict over things such as the way a procedure will be executed or use of a tool, there is a greater chance that they are going to take their eye off customers and prospects. Office politics can also have an impact on innovation. Innovation is fostered by new ideas that often come from employees. A business with a lot of office politics often means that employees will be scared to challenge, bring up new ideas or debate issues. Therefore, the innovation will be less.
As you can see, office politics are more than just gossip. It can have an impact on your business. The good news is that it can be diminished through powerful leadership and open communication throughout the organization.
A few months ago I had a coaching call with Tom Hickey – President of Wedgwood Insurance Ltd. Tom had decided it was time to address office politics. During a State of the Brokerage meeting, Tom and two other leaders role played a typical situation. After the role play they debriefed with the entire staff and asked the following questions.
- What impact does office politics have on employees?
- What impact does office politics have on clients?
- What impact does office politics have on our company overall?
The overall answer – not so great! Tom then took a page from what Oprah has been doing with her “No Phone Zone Pledge”. He challenged everybody to take the “No Office Politics Pledge”. Here is what it said:
“I promise to refuse to engage in office politics. If I have an issue with a co-worker I promise to talk about it with them in a respectful way, privately. If we cannot agree on a mutually acceptable resolution we will get a manager to help us come to one.”
Don’t take the highroad. Office politics are real and can have an impact on your results. Take a proactive role as a leader to stomp out this type of culture.
*The Author, Bonita Argent, is a Vertical Growth Advisor with Sitkins International. Click here to view her bio.