UPDATED: MAY 21, 2024

“I LOVE office politics.” ~ No one, ever. 

Office politics has shown up a lot in our coaching conversations recently, as well as in discussions with our friends and family. It makes sense, as budgets for 2022 are being discussed, end-of-year performance reviews are being prepared for, and businesses get back to pre-pandemic working conditions. Of course, for most of us office politics need to be navigated regardless of the time of year or cycle of the business.

But what are office politics really? And are they always bad? We talk about this and more on this episode of the Inside Job Podcast.

In summary, office politics are about how people relate to each other and how resources get allocated – so relationships and power. They tend to be experienced when we believe there is an imbalance of influence, which leads us to believe we’re getting the short end of the stick. 

Office politics, however, are more about what’s happening inside of us than they are about what’s happening to us. Most of the perceived unfairness of politics stems from the stories we tell ourselves, the assumptions we’re making about what’s happening when people get together, and the existence of healthy networks that we’re simply not a part of. 

During our conversation we talk about how to make sense of these circumstances, and what to do about it. We talk about personal power versus political power and how to stand up for ourselves when we want to have more influence at work. We also talk about gathering and evaluating evidence, and how to get to the heart of what’s really at stake when we think we’re missing out. 

These things will even help your book club run more effectively. Just ask Nayla. 

You can listen to the episode on our website: www.insidejobthepodcast.com or on your favorite podcast platform. Follow us on social media (all over @insidejobpodcast) for ongoing discussions and articles related to this topic. 

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