Political Dilemmas at Work: How to Maintain Your Integrity and Further Your Career

Chapter Thirteen

FIRESTARTER

You were hired to push through change, even if that meant starting a few fires and upsetting people. However, resistance is growing, and your support has vanished.

 

 

 

 

When they are very good at what they do, organizations usually grow. Over time, effective methods are established and become second nature. Problems are tackled in ways that begin to fall into regular patterns. The more success that is generated, the deeper ingrained these practices become. Yet the environment around our organizations is changing rapidly, so the need for us to change the way we do things is becoming critical.

When we are being sold on how to lead change, we are often made to feel that full support will be available. If our sponsor is telling us that we can use whatever means necessary, it appears to be an opportunity that is too good to miss. How can we fail? If we accept a change role, then we need to recognize that high levels of political skill will be required as the resistance arises. Tackling this dilemma early is vital before we burn too many bridges and fall victim to the firestarter.

The Firestarter Dilemma

I thought this was my golden opportunity. A once-in-a-lifetime chance to hit the big time. It was a tough selection process but the president seemed to like me straight off. On my first day, he could not have been more supportive and said I had a great future ahead. All I had to do was shake the place up a bit.

With an Ivy League MBA behind ...