๐๐๐๐ซ ๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ.
It’s not about the gossip. Not sabotage.
Not credit -stealing, back -channeling, or power hoarding.
I love them for what they reveal.
Office politics are feedback.
Theyโre usually a signal of insecurity, mistrust, or unmet needs.
Someone feels left out.
Someoneโs trying to protect their influence.
Someone doesnโt trust the system to reward them.
That doesnโt excuse the behavior.
But it does explain it.
And most of the time, the real issue isnโt that politics are happening.
Itโs that ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฌ , ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฌ , ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ .
๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ , ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ข๐ญ.
And if theyโre unaware, it means theyโre not close enough to the
individual(s) or the team.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ ?
A sign that something in the experience isnโt workingโฆfor that person
or the people around them.
When addressed with curiosity and accountability, office politics
become something else entirely:
๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง .
๐๐๐ซ๐ โ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐ .
On a consulting project, our team kept getting pushback from
someone on the client side.
They were slowing momentum. I was asked to โgo fix them.โ
(And honestly, that framing was part of the problem too.)
When I met with the client, I learned they were new to their role,
owned a key component of the project, and reported directly to the
projectโs client lead, even outside the project structure.
It wasnโt resistance. ๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง .
They werenโt being kept in the loop. So meetings kept surprising
them.
And their pushback? It wasnโt sabotage. It was time they needed to
process changes and manage up.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ๐ง โ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ โ๐ฌ. ๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐๐ฆ โ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐๐ญ .
We assumed they were the problem, but we were creating it.
That moment was a development opportunity for them and for us.
Once we included them, everything shifted.
They became ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ โ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ .
Thatโs the thing about politics.
What looks like obstruction is often someone trying to protect
themselves in a system they donโt feel part of.
๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ฌ :
Ask: ๐๐ฉ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ?
Use recognition to reinforce the behaviors you do want.
Redirect competitive energy toward shared goals and growth.
๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง โ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ง๐จ๐ข๐ฌ๐ .
Theyโre telling you somethingโฆabout trust, clarity, or inclusion.
The question is whether youโre listening.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ โ๐ฌ ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ
๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ข๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญ?