Truth 22Choose Your Battles Carefully
When one of Katherine's direct reports was criticized in a partner's meeting, she was tempted to defend him, but she hesitated. She had put great effort into gaining the goodwill of the partner who was displeased with her subordinate, and defending him would cost her significant political capital, especially if her employee turned out to be in the wrong.
So Katherine waited to get the facts before jumping in. She was aware that political capital is like a bank account: You add to your account when you support others and are successful, and you make withdrawals when you oppose others or upset them.
When the people around you are happy with how you treat them, your political capital accounts are healthy, but ...
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