Minimizing Politics

In this lesson, we discuss how people who dislike workplace politics can reduce their exposure to it by choosing the right environment and building enough professional leverage that their work speaks for itself. Politics may never disappear completely, but working for the right leader, developing scarce expertise, and joining a growing organization can reduce the need to compete for attention, influence, and limited opportunities.

• Choose your manager carefully: Look for leaders who share your preference for rewarding strong work and expertise rather than requiring employees to constantly navigate organizational politics.
• Become exceptionally valuable in a difficult area: Developing scarce expertise and solving problems that few others can solve creates leverage, making your contribution difficult to ignore and potentially giving you greater freedom from other organizational expectations.
• Look for high-growth environments: Politics can intensify when opportunities are scarce and employees are competing for a limited number of roles. Rapid organizational growth creates new teams, responsibilities, and leadership positions, giving more people opportunities to advance without competing for the same seat.

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