FACTOR V: ORGANIZATIONALPOSITIONING SKILLS
CLUSTER K: BEING ORGANIZATIONALLY SAVVY
48 Political Savvy
Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn‘t mean politics won‘t take an interest in you.
Pericles (495-429 BCE) – Greek statesman, orator, and general of Athens
Section 1: Your Development Need(s)
Unskilled
 Doesn’t know how to navigate smoothly and quietly through political waters
 Says and does things that cause political problems
 Doesn’t understand how to deal with not-invented-here and territory protection
 Rejects politics and may view self as apolitical; others might see this as naïve
 May not deal with upper management persuasively
 May be impatient with political process and make procedural errors
 May be too direct and not consider impact on others
 May not project out consequences of his/her actions well
Select one to three of the competencies listed below to use as a substitute for this competency if you decide not to
work on it directly.
Substitutes: 3,4,8,12,21,22,31,32,33,36,37,38,42,52,56,64
Skilled
 Can maneuver through complex political situations effectively and quietly
 Is sensitive to how people and organizations function
 Anticipates where the land mines are and plans his/her approach accordingly
 Views corporate politics as a necessary part of organizational life and works to adjust to that reality
 Is a maze-bright person
Overused Skill
 May be seen as excessively political
 May not be trusted
 May tell others what they are expecting to hear rather than what he/she knows to be true
 May overstate what he or she knows
 May be seen as manipulative and scheming
Select one to three of the competencies listed below to work on to compensate for an overuse of this skill.
Compensators: 4,8,12,17,22,27,29,30,34,38,44,51,53,57,63
Some Causes
 Don’t read others or their interests well
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 Excessively direct and straightforward
 Misunderstanding of what political savvy is
 No patience with due process
 Poor interpersonal skills
 Poor negotiator
 Reject the necessity of ―playing politics‖
 Seen as an advocate
 Very action oriented
 Very ego/ethnocentric
Leadership Architect® Factors and Clusters
This competency is in the Organizational Positioning Skills Factor (V). This competency is in the Being
Organizationally Savvy Cluster (K) with: 38. You may want to check other competencies in the same
Factor/Cluster for related tips.
The Map
Organizations are complex mazes of egos, constituencies, issues and rivalries. They are peopled with strong
egos and empire-driven individuals. Everyone builds his or her own sandbox and defends it from attack and
influence from outsiders. There are many traps and dead ends in organizations. More ways to turn wrong than
right. People who are politically savvy accept this as the human condition and deal with it. Not to be confused
with being ―political‖ which is a polite term for not being trusted or lacking in substance, political savvy involves
getting things done in the maze with the least noise for the maximum benefit.
Section 2: Learning on Your Own
These self-development remedies will help you build your skill(s).
Some Remedies
 1. Not trusted? Identify how you rate on #22 Ethics and Values and #29 Integrity and Trust. If high,
then don’t read this tip. If either is average or lower, you may be seen as not helpful to others. Your
attempts to influence will not be trusted. Are you viewed as a loner? You might be cutting corners to look
good. You may slap things together to look good when what’s underneath wouldn’t pass the test. You may
be trying to blame others for things you should take responsibility for. You may be seen as pushing narrow
or personal interests. You may be making up excuses that are not real to cover your butt. You may be
trying to make your rivals look bad so you look better. You may hedge when asked a tough question. You
may indicate little or no concern for others. If you do any of these things or things like it, you will eventually
be found out. Being more politically savvy may actually backfire on you. Others will trust you less. Before
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you work on political savvy, work on yourself. More help? – See #22 Ethics and Values and #29 Integrity
and Trust.
 2. Stuck with a predictable approach? Adjust to the situation and the audience. People who are
politically savvy work from the outside (audience, person, group) in. They determine the demand
characteristics or requirements of each situation and each person they face and select from among their
various skills, tone, and styles to find the best approach to make things work. Practice not thinking
inside/out when you are around others. More help? – See #15 Customer Focus.
 3. Big presentations falling flat? Test things out with senior management. In the special case of
dealing with higher management, those who are best at it inform senior managers individually before the
presentation/proposal. They often go to the toughest critic first to hone their ideas and get the worst-case
out first. Using sound political tactics with senior managers is complicated by people’s comfort around top
management. Sound political moves require a cool and clear head. More help? – See #8 Comfort Around
Higher Management.
 4. Outmaneuvered? Learn to read the political landscape. Organizations are politically complex. They
are peopled with strong egos and empire-driven individuals. There are many political traps and dead ends.
More ways to turn wrong than right. People who are politically savvy know the organization. They know
how to get things done. They know who to rely on for expediting things. They know who the major
gatekeepers are who control the flow of resources, information and decisions. More help? – See #38
Organizational Agility.
 5. Right audience, wrong message? Understand what makes individuals and groups distinct. Being
politically sensitive includes being people sensitive. You have to be able to read people. You have to be
able to predict how they are going to react to you and to what you are trying to get done. The magic and
the complexity of life is that people are different. Each requires special consideration and treatment. If you
are able to predict what individuals or groups will do, you will be able to select from among your various
tactics, skills, and styles to get done what you need. More help? – See #36 Motivating Others and #56
Sizing Up People.
 6. Missing signals? Pay attention to body language. For close-in political savvy (live in a meeting) you
need to learn how to read non-verbals. Common signals of trouble are changes in body posture (especially
turning away), crossed arms, staring, or the telltale glancing at one’s watch, scribbling on the note pad,
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tapping one’s fingers or a pencil, looking out the window, frowns and washboard foreheads. When this
occurs, pause. Ask a question. Ask how we’re doing. Do a live process check.
 7. Inviting opposition? Avoid the extremes. Strong advocates for narrow views don’t usually fare well
politically in organizations. Initially be tentative. Give others some room to maneuver. Make the business or
organizational case first. Be prepared to counter arguments that your objective is less important than theirs.
A lot of political noise is caused by making extreme statements right out of the box.
 8. Selectively savvy? Look at opposition groups objectively. Is there a group or groups you have more
trouble with politically than others? Is it because you don’t like or are uncomfortable with them? To work
better with problem groups, put yourself in their case. Turn off your ―I like—I don’t like; I agree—I don’t
agree‖ switch. Ask yourself why would you act that way? What do you think they’re trying to achieve?
Establish reciprocity. Relationships don’t last unless you provide something and so do they. Find out what
they want and tell them what you want. Strike a bargain.
 9. Playing the blame game? Keep political conflicts small and concrete. The more abstract it gets, the
more unmanageable it becomes. Separate the people from the problem. Attack problems by looking at the
nature of the problem, not the person presenting the problem. Avoid direct blaming remarks; describe the
problem and its impact. If you can’t agree on a solution, agree on procedure, or agree on a few things, and
list all the issues remaining. This creates some motion and breaks political stalemates.
 10. No plan B? Be process flexible. Always have a plan of attack but also have a contingency plan. Be
ready for instant change. Expect the unexpected. People who are politically savvy are personally flexible.
They care more about accomplishing the objective than staying true to the one true ―me.‖ More help? –
See #32 Learning on the Fly and #45 Personal Learning.
Section 3: Learning from Feedback
These sources would give you the most accurate and detailed feedback on your skill(s).
 1. Boss’s Boss(es)
From a process standpoint, your boss’s boss probably has the most influence and control over your
progress. He/she has a broader perspective, has more access to data, and stands at the center of
decisions about you. To know what he/she thinks, without having to violate the canons of corporate due
process to get that information, would be quite useful.
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 2. Direct Boss
Your direct boss has important information about you, your performance, and your prospects. The
challenge is to get this information. There are formal processes (e.g., performance appraisals). There are
day-to-day opportunities. To help, signal your boss that you want and can handle direct and timely
feedback. Many bosses have trouble giving feedback, so you will have to work at it over a period of time.
 3. Human Resource Professionals
Human Resource professionals have both a formal and informal feedback role. Since they have access to
unique and confidential information, they can provide the right context for feedback you’ve received.
Sometimes they may be ―directed‖ to give you feedback. Other times, they may pass on feedback just to
be helpful to you.
 4. Natural Mentors
Natural mentors have a special relationship with you and are interested in your success and your future.
Since they are usually not in your direct chain of com-mand, you can have more open, relaxed, and fruitful
discussions about yourself and your career prospects. They can be a very important source for candid or
critical feedback others may not give you.
 5. Past Associates/Constituencies
When confronted with a present performance problem, some claim, ―I wasn’t like that before; it must be the
current situation.‖ When feedback is available from former associates, about 50% support that claim. In the
other half of the cases, the people were like that before and probably didn’t know it. It sometimes makes
sense to access the past to clearly see the present.
Section 4: Learning from Develop-in-Place Assignments
These part-time develop-in-place assignments will help you build your skill(s).
 Serve for a year or more with a community agency.
 Lobby for your organization on a contested issue in local, regional, state, or federal government.
 Be a change agent; create a symbol for change; lead the rallying cry; champion a significant change and
implementation.
 Relaunch an existing product or service that’s not doing well.
 Serve on a junior or shadow board.
 Work on a team forming a joint venture or partnership.
 Prepare and present a proposal of some consequence to top management.
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 Manage the assigning/allocating of office space in a contested situation.
 Take on a tough and undoable project, one where others who have tried it have failed.
 Do a postmortem on a failed project, and present it to the people involved.
Section 5: Learning from Full-Time Jobs
These full-time jobs offer the opportunity to build your skill(s).
 1. Chair of Projects/Task Forces
The core demands for qualifying as Chair of a Project/Task Force assignment are: (1) Leader of a group
with an important and specific goal. (2) Tight deadline. (3) Success or failure will be evident. (4) Highvisibility sponsor. (5) Learning something on the fly. (6) Must get others to cooperate. (7) Usually six
months or more. Three types of Projects/Task Forces: (1) New ideas, products, services, or systems (e.g.,
product/service/program research and development, creation/installation/launch of a new system,
programs like TQM, ISO and Six Sigma, positive discipline). (2) Formal negotiations and relationships
(e.g., acquisitions; divestitures; agreements; joint ventures; licensing arrangements; franchising; dealing
with unions, governments, communities, charities, customers, and relocations). (3) Big one-time events
(e.g., working on a major presentation for the board; organizing significant meetings or conferences;
reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, or relocations; working on visions, charters, strategies, other timeurgent issues and problems).
 2. Crisis Manager
The core demands to qualify as Crisis Manager are: (1) Leader responsible for an unpredictable, unique
crisis of significant proportion. (2) Success and failure will be evident and visible. (3) Takes Herculean
effort to solve. (4) Learning something on the fly. (5) Solution requires cross-boundary team. (6) Leader will
be a spokesperson and potentially subjected to media scrutiny. (7) Hostile questioning and suspicious
atmosphere is common. (8) Time pressure is extreme. (9) Solution involves working with parties outside
the organization. (10) Usually short-term (up to three months). (11) Other parts of job would have to be
temporarily set aside. Examples of crisis management would be: (1) A product safety recall; product or
system failure. (2) Unexpected death of a CEO or senior corporate executive. (3) Unexpected termination
or scandal involving a CEO or senior corporate executive. (4) Trouble with a key customer or supplier that
decreases revenue or production. (5) Natural disasters. (6) Terrorist attacks. (7) Kidnapping or arrest of
employees; violent crime against employees.
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 3. Fix-Its/Turnarounds
The core demands to qualify as a Fix-it or Turnaround assignment are: (1) Clean-ing up a mess. (2)
Serious people issues/problems like credibility/performance/morale. (3) Tight deadline. (4) Serious
business performance failure. (5) Last chance to fix. Four types of Fix-its/Turnarounds: (1) Fixing a failed
business/unit involving taking control, stopping losses, managing damage, planning the turnaround, dealing
with people problems, installing new processes and systems, and rebuilding the spirit and performance of
the unit. (2) Managing sizable disasters like mishandled labor negotiations and strikes, thefts, history of
significant business losses, poor staff, failed leadership, hidden problems, fraud, public relations
nightmares, etc. (3) Significant reorganization and restructuring (e.g., stabilizing the business, re-forming
unit, introducing new systems, making people changes, resetting strategy and tactics). (4) Significant
system/process breakdown (e.g., MIS, financial coordination processes, audits, standards, etc.) across
units requiring working from a distant position to change something, providing advice and counsel, and
installing or implementing a major process improvement or system change outside your own unit and/or
with customers outside the organization.
 4. International Assignments
The core demands to qualify as an International assignment are: (1) First-time working in the country. (2)
Significant challenges like new language, hardship location, unique business rules/practices, significant
cultural/marketplace differences, different functional task, etc. (3) More than a year assignment. (4) No
automatic return deal. (5) Not necessarily a change in job challenge, technical content, or responsibilities.
Examples of International assignments would be: (1) Managing local operations for an office located
outside your home country. (2) Leading the expansion into new global markets. (3) International sales
position. (4) Country/region head. (5) Managing transition for outsourced operations at an international
location. (6) Head of supply chain or manufacturing for global business. (7) Global compliance manager at
an international post.
 5. Staff Leadership (Influencing Without Authority)
The core demands to qualify as Staff Leadership are: (1) Significant challenge (e.g., start-up, fix-it, scope
and/or scale assignment, strategic planning project, changes in management practices/systems). (2)
Insufficient direct authority to make it happen. (3) Tight deadlines. (4) Visible to significant others. (5)
Sensitive politics. Examples of Staff Leadership (Influencing Without Authority) jobs would be: (1) Leading
a support function without P&L responsibilities. (2) Managing an internal consulting function for the
organization (e.g., OD or HR consultant). (3) Project manager of a cross-functional or cross-departmental
initiative. (4) Managing a cross-functional, matrixed team.
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Section 6: Learning from Your Plan
These additional remedies will help make this development plan more effective for you.
Learning to Learn Better
 1. Rehearse Successful Tactics/Strategies/Actions
Mentally rehearse how you will act before going into the situation. Try to anticipate how others will react,
what they will say, and how you’ll respond. Check out the best and worst cases; play out both scenes.
Check your feelings in conflict or worst-case situations; rehearse staying under control.
 2. Examine Why You Judge People the Way You Do
List the people you like and those you dislike and try to find out why. What do those you like have in
common with each other and with you? What do those you dislike have in common with each other and
how do they differ from you? Are your ―people buckets‖ logical and productive or do they interfere? Could
you be more effective without putting people into buckets?
 3. Sell Something to a Tough Group/Audience
Think of the person or group who will be the toughest to sell, the most critical, skeptical, or resistant, and
sell that person or group first. Take time to understand the opposing viewpoints. Find common ground and
leverage points; line up your best data and arguments and go for it.
Learning from Experience, Feedback, and Other People
 4. Using Multiple Models
Who exemplifies how to do whatever your need is? Who, for example, personifies decisiveness or
compassion or strategic agility? Think more broadly than your current job and colleagues. For example,
clergy, friends, spouses, or community leaders are also good sources for potential models. Select your
models not on the basis of overall excellence or likeability, but on the basis of the one towering strength (or
glaring weakness) you are interested in. Even people who are well thought of usually have only one or two
towering strengths (or glaring weak-nesses). Ordinarily, you won’t learn as much from the whole person as
you will from one characteristic.
 5. Learning from Bosses
Bosses can be an excellent and ready source for learning. All bosses do some things exceptionally well
and other things poorly. Distance your feelings from the boss/direct report relationship and study things that
work and things that don’t work for your boss. What would you have done? What could you use and what
should you avoid?
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 6. Learning from Interviewing Others
Interview others. Ask not only what they do, but how and why they do it. What do they think are the rules of
thumb they are following? Where did they learn the behaviors? How do they keep them current? How do
they monitor the effect they have on others?
 7. Learning from Observing Others
Observe others. Find opportunities to observe without interacting with your model. This enables you to
objectively study the person, note what he/she is doing or not doing, and compare that with what you would
typically do in similar situations. Many times you can learn more by watching than asking. Your model may
not be able to explain what he/she does or may be an unwilling teacher.
 8. Consolidating What You Learn from People
After using any source and/or method of learning from others, write down or mentally note the new rules of
thumb and the principles involved. How will you remind yourself of the new behaviors in similar situations?
How will you prevent yourself from reacting on ―autopilot‖? How could you share what you have learned
from others?
 9. Learning from Bad Bosses
First, what does he/she do so well to make him/her your boss? (Even bad bosses have strengths.) Then,
ask what makes this boss bad for you. Is it his/her behavior? Attitude? Values? Philosophy? Practices?
Style? What is the source of the conflict? Why do you react as you do? Do others react the same? How are
you part of the problem? What do you do that triggers your boss? If you wanted to, could you reduce the
conflict or make it go away by changing something you do? Is there someone around you who doesn’t
react like you? How are they different? What can you learn from them? What is your emotional reaction to
this boss? Why do you react like that? What can you do to cope with these feelings? Can you avoid
reacting out of anger and frustration? Can you find something positive about the situation? Can you use
someone else as a buffer? Can you learn from your emotions? What lasting lessons of managing others
can you take away from this experience? What won’t you do as a manager? What will you do differently?
How could you teach these principles you’ve learned to others by the use of this example?
 10. Learning from Bad Situations
All of us will find ourselves in bad situations from time to time. Good intentions gone bad. Impossible tasks
and goals. Hopeless projects. Even though you probably can’t perform well, the key is to at least take away
some lessons and insights. How did things get to be this way? What factors led to the impasse? How can
you make the best of a bad situation? How can you neutralize the negative elements? How can you get the
most out of yourself and your staff under the chilling situation? What can you salvage? How can you use
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coping strategies to minimize the negatives? How can you avoid these situations going forward? In bad
situations: (1) Be resourceful. Get the most you can out of the situation. (2) Try to deduce why things got to
be that way. (3) Learn from both the situation you inherited and how you react to it. (4) Integrate what you
learn into your future behavior.
The political tradition of ancient thought, filtered in Italy by Machiavelli, says one thing clearly: every
prince needs allies, and the bigger the responsibility, the more allies he needs. Silvio Berlusconi – Italian
Prime Minister, entrepreneur, real estate and insurance tycoon, bank and media proprietor, sports team owner, and
songwriter
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Suggested Readings
Ansell, J. (with Leeson, J.). (2010). When the headline is you: An insider‘s guide to handling the media. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Ashkenas, R. N., Ulrich, D., Jick, T., & Kerr, S. (2002). The boundaryless organization: Breaking the chains of
organization structure (Rev. ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Brandon, R., & Seldman, M. (2004). Survival of the savvy: High-integrity political tactics for career and
company success. New York: Free Press.
Dobson, M. S., & Dobson, D. S. (2001). Enlightened office politics: Understanding, coping with and winning the
game: Without losing your soul. New York: AMACOM.
Ferris, G. R., & Davidson, S. L., & Perrewé, P. L. (2005). Political skill at work: Impact on work effectiveness.
Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing.
Finkelstein, S. (2003). Why smart executives fail: And what you can learn from their mistakes. New York:
Portfolio.
Hawley, C. (2008). 100+ Tactics for office politics (2nd ed.). New York: Barrons Educational Series.
Kissinger, H. (1994). Diplomacy. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Korten, D. C. (2001). When corporations rule the world (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Linsky, M., & Heifetz, R. A. (2002). Leadership on the line: Staying alive through the dangers of leading.
Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Machiavelli, N. (2007). The prince (P. Constantine, Trans.). New York: Random House. (Original work
published 1515.)
McIntyre, M. G. (2005). Secrets to winning at office politics: How to achieve your goals and increase your
influence at work. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Puder-York, M. (2005). The office survival guide. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Ranker, G., Gautrey, C., & Phipps, M. (2008). Political dilemmas at work: How to maintain your integrity and
further your career. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Reardon, K. K. (2002). The secret handshake: Mastering the politics of the business inner circle. New York:
Doubleday.
Silberman, M. L. (with Hansburg, F.). (2005). Peoplesmart: Developing your interpersonal intelligence.
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Walton, M. S. (2003). Generating buy-in: Mastering the language of leadership. New York: AMACOM.
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