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

Find Out More about the Project and Get to the Politics

It is common sense—in that vital moment when the boss throws the ball your way—to explore the time line, objectives, and deliverables of the project. What is less common is to think about exploring the political backdrop. If the project is clearly a great opportunity, then the conversation about politics could be as easy as it is important. But if you suspect that this project might send you and the team down the road to nowhere, then it will be a tougher conversation, but no less vital.

The way to explore the political aspect is to ask questions—lots of them, mostly of your boss or whoever is making the offer, but this same process should be applied to the other stakeholders as well. Asking questions not only provides you with more insight and information you can use to assess the benefits and threats, it also signals your professionalism and determination for success. If you were handing an assignment to a talented team member, wouldn’t you expect them to ask lots of questions? To accept a project and move straight to implementation is to be politically naive. Asking questions not only allows you to test for safety, but it also enables you to be the assertive professional who wants the project clearly defined and scoped at the outset.

Commonsense areas that you should ask questions about include: time lines, deliverables, resources, and the other stakeholders. You need to know why this project, why now, and ...