Offense Tactics

In this lesson, we discuss how to build enough influence and organizational strength that targeting you—or your team—simply isn’t worth the effort. Whether dealing with a self-interested colleague or another organization competing for your scope, protection comes from understanding other people’s motivations, building strong support around your work, maintaining high performance, and creating a compelling narrative for why your organization should remain intact.

• Build enough soft power to become an unattractive target: Strong relationships, allies, organizational support, and a track record of performance can make attempts to undermine you significantly more difficult and costly.
• Understand the story other people tell themselves: People rarely view their own actions as malicious. Understanding how others rationalize their behavior can help you anticipate their moves and frame cooperation with you as the most practical choice.
• Defend your organization with performance and narrative: When other teams compete for your scope, demonstrate the value and complexity of your work, highlight the costs and risks of disruption, and clearly articulate why keeping the organization intact serves the broader business.

Original podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WaeGfLnRvc&t=24s