Surviving office politics
Featured in the Using Emotional Intelligence at Work training manual
By Mike Bagshaw
Category: Emotional Intelligence
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
People spend a great deal of time on internal politics and game playing in many organisations, often to the detriment of the business and working relationships. However, people also need to use informal communication channels to be effective. These positive and negative aspects of the informal side of the organisation represent the emotional life of the organisation. Emotions add depth and colour to our working lives, but inappropriate expressions of emotion can be very damaging. This training activity addresses the question of how to behave in an emotionally intelligent way, neither being naïve nor acting with cynicism, in the shadows of the organisation.
You start the training activity by defining office politics, and talking about why it exists. You then conduct an exercise called ‘The Prisoner’s Dilemma’. This brings into sharp focus the effects of competitive relationships, when it is assumed that the task is to beat the other at all costs. This leads to a discussion of the organisational climate. The participants are asked to assess whether they work in a collaborative climate themselves. The concept of the shadow side is introduced to explore the impact of informal processes (including politics) on personal growth and development. The participants are then asked to assess their own political savvy in terms of emotionally intelligent behaviour – as opposed to naivety at one extreme and cynical game playing at the other. A particularly tricky aspect of office politics is then addressed – the difficult boss. Participants are asked to describe how bosses can be difficult, and then to come up with some practical tips for dealing with them. You summarise the training activity by re-emphasising the emotionally intelligent way of negotiating your way through a political environment, and how even one individual can make a real difference.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to assess their own political shrewdness and conduct an exercise on dealing with the difficult boss.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 03:05:00 |
| No of Pages: | 29 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Additional resources: A4 sheets of thin card.
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers for programmes on career self-management, culture change, influencing, and managing conflict. It is most appropriate for non-managerial staff or people who are just becoming team leaders, supervisors or managers.
Download the training activity, Surviving office politics as featured in the Fenman training manual; Using Emotional Intelligence at Work