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

Proactively Manage the Political Fallout

Saying no could produce political fallout. If you pay careful attention to what you are doing for your powerful stakeholders, then you are more likely to have their support if other people start to make trouble for you. They can see the value you are creating as they work toward their goals. They may even see you as indispensable. They will be less likely to tolerate any threat to your services and may well move to protect you.

For everyone else, think carefully about the impact that his or her requests could have on your ability to deliver value. Start to identify tasks to decline. For these tasks, spend a few moments considering the world from their position. How are they likely to react? What are the consequences of saying no? What will they do next?

They may turn to your boss to insist on your compliance; so, proactively manage this by briefing the boss on what you are doing and why. This will give your boss time to appreciate your position and be better prepared to support you. Briefing the boss in this way means you get to tell them your version of events in your own words. Often, unprepared bosses will agree with someone else’s request, and you are then in the position of arguing against your boss. This puts you in a difficult position because of the immediate power they have as your line manager. If they have already said yes, then they will be presented with a personal dilemma—going back on their word. In which case, they ...