I abhor office politics which hasn’t really helped me in my work career.  This Wall Street Journal article starts out supporting this fact:

Some people prefer not to get involved in politics at work, but most career experts argue that playing the game is crucial to your career success. By avoiding it, you may find your talents ignored and your success limited, and you may feel left out of the loop, says Louellen Essex, co-author of “Manager’s Desktop Consultant: Just-in-Time Solutions to the Top People Problems That Keep You Up at Night.”

I agree – I have experienced that fact first-hand.  So, you have to play the game at some level.  Here are 6 tips from the author:

Observe how things get done in your organization.

Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn.

Determine strategic initiatives in the company.

Don’t align too strongly with one group.

Learn to communicate persuasively.

Be true to yourself..

Those are all good tips with more information contained with each point in the article.  But allow me to quote the final point in full:

Be true to yourself. After analyzing the political landscape in your company, if you decide the game is one you can’t play, prepare to move on. It’s not typical, but some companies actually condone — even promote — dishonest, ruthless or unethical behavior. The game of office politics in this situation is not one worth winning.

This is the area that tweaks me.  I was in a culture that did promote unethical behavior and I did not subscribe to it.  I was fired.  However, I did feel slightly vindicated years later when the CEO went to jail based on his transgressions.

Nonetheless, the points are all worth reading in detail.

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