We all hate ‘politics’ at work. A political environment is one where people say things calculating to get a certain response, not saying things because they just believe they’re true.
Politics includes
- Flattering people to get them to like you
- Gossiping about someone to erode their influence
- Agreeing with someone’s goofy idea so they will agree with yours in the future
- Disagreeing with someone’s great idea so that a third party will think you’re smart
These behaviours are despicable. They erode trust, they ruin team, they slow down every process inside the business, and they ultimately show up in the profit/loss statement. Trust is fast and efficient and distrust is terribly slow.
The way to fight politics is to make a personal vow that you won’t play that game, but that you’ll say what you really believe. Do what’s right for the business, not what’s right for someone’s ego or career advancement.