Thinking Politically in the Corporate Environment

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Thinking Politically in the Corporate Environment

In companies that are besotted by (Ed: ~ full of) politics and intrigue, problem solvers rarely fix issues and are more likely to spawn new problems that weigh heavily on the organization’s ability to serve customers and respond to market trends. This is because most problem solvers in such organizations eschew thinking about the political dimension of problems. For them problem solving is apolitical and necessitates issues to be understood and analyzed, root causes identified and validated, and initiatives developed and implemented that eventually result in workable solutions. The solutions— by and large—are delivered in the form of processes and governance models, roles and responsibilities, training, automation etc. Problem solving in this manner always conforms to the politics of the company or what I like to call the “corporate order”.

No matter how hard problem solvers try to fix problems, the corporate order always ensures that facets of the solution they deem to be dangerous to their interests are either lobbied away or sufficiently diluted before the green light is given for implementation. Even the implementation of the solution is not secure from the prying eyes and ears of the corporate order. If they discover that red flags can expose their incompetence or heap embarrassment upon them, project and operational reports are adroitly manipulated to steer initiatives into paralysis or the guillotine is employed to give the initiatives a death blow.

In such environments, problem fixers— executives, programme directors, project managers, line managers etc— quickly learn to mould their thinking to accommodate the interests of the corporate order, even if it is detrimental to the (real) corporate interests. Subsequently problem fixers spend huge amounts of intellectual capital, invest considerable money and exert much effort in producing and delivering solutions that are fundamentally flawed both in scope and application. From the outset the purpose of such solutions is to maintain the status quo i.e. keeps the executives that preside over the corporate order in power. Problem fixers are only permitted to solve those problems that enable the custodians of the corporate order to meet their performance targets and maintain good relations with the board.

Problem solvers who adhere to the purity of their thinking and are sincere to the (real) corporate interests find it extremely difficult to conceal their frustrations in such working environments. They often clash with the interests of the corporate order—many do so with a poor understanding of the political situation. In the end—depending upon the level of seniority and political influence—they are either brow beaten into submission, contained but isolated or their employment is terminated. This usually happens after a lengthy war of attrition—often disguised in business parlance, so that unaware employees do not become suspicious and can be used as pawns in the ensuing power play—and the company’s resources, money and time are wasted in such pursuits.

Those problem fixers that survive the onslaught are intellectually scarred and find it difficult to solve problems. They procrastinate fearful that their solutions will be rejected by other employees who work under the shadow of the corporate order. Such problem fixers very quickly lose credibility and consign themselves to problems they cannot solve.

How to solve problems in politically charged companies?
If problems solvers truly want to solve problems in politically charged companies, then they must frame the problems in the context of the corporate order. But to do so, they must excel in three areas:
1. Develop a firm understanding of the corporate order and its political influence on the entire company.
2. Learn to think politically and not intellectually. Unlike intellectual thinking, political thinking has no rules. Its source is the statements and deeds of those who engage in politics at work. Techniques such as generalisation, modelling and analogies rarely work to uncover or counter the motives and plans of the corporate order. Conversely, the corporate order is apt at exploiting such techniques to imprison problem solvers in their thinking thereby rendering them impotent. Hence, it is incumbent upon the problem solver to build a profound understanding of all the major players at work, their domains of influence and how they manoeuvre politically to safeguard their interests. In sum the problem solver needs to possess a crystal clear picture about their political plans and actions.
3. The problem solver must have the courage to challenge the existing corporate order. Challenge here should not be confused with mere confrontation with the guardians of the corporate order that ultimately yields a compromise—this will never lead to proper change. At best the problem solver’s concerns will be accommodated by the corporate order, but at the mercy of to their terms and conditions. Moreover the problem solver will be regarded by other employees as a poodle of those executives under whose hegemony the corporate order thrives. To produce effective change the problem solver must expand the support base to include other executives willing to spearhead the cause, and then challenge the corporate order until it is reformed or reconstructed. This is a high risk strategy—failure will certainly spell the end of the problem solver, but success will usher in an era of genuine problem solving and propel the company to new heights.

		Comments by date▼ Comments by rating Rating
		20 Quarterman Lee Consultant, United States
	Thinking Politically in Organizations Excellent summary. The real problem is top leadership. Unfortunately, the corporate order rarely changes until the pain is to great to ignore. By then, it is usually too late for the organization.

		4 Mike Foy, United Kingdom
	Thinking Politically and Forming Alliances I couldn't agree more. I think though that it's also worth bearing in mind that the prevailing corporate order can be to some degree determined by the environment in which the industry sits e.g. centr...

		6 Nancy Roggen OD and Professional Development , United States
	Fighting Political Warfare Building on what Lee Quarterman said, strong focused leadership can limit the damage of political warfare. Unfortunately, all too often the senior leadership team spend their efforts all trying to j...

		7 William Stadler Manager, United States
	Politics in Corporate Environment are Most Damaging for Middle and Lower Management This type of thinking can be most damaging to the middle or lower management level of folk within a companies' structure - the ones who accomplish the tasks - as those folks are the ones with the leas...

		4 Amit Dasgupta Director, United States
	The Courage to Fight Politics in the Corporate Environment A very well articulated observation! The analysis is very pragmatic and if one wants to employ this technique should have high confidence in his/her competence as well as his/her core values. A cour...

		0 Tarcisio Bastos, Canada
	Leadership Selection Problem as a Root Cause Should the selection process of leadership be considered as one of the premises for success rather than simply a demonstration of power by those who simply surround themselves by, most of time, loyal ...

		1 Kathleen Turner United States
	Frustrated Change Agent @William Stadler: As a past strategist for Walmart, could not agree more! And would love to hear the group's best practices: interesting books: buy-in, knowing doing gap, and Accenture has a white pap...

		2 John Nobel Management Consultant, Australia
	Politics is the Art of Compromise to Get Concensus on How to Move Forward? Nice write up. To me it depends on what success looks like: is it about people, customers, shareholders, environment, values and culture? People is first and means influencing others, which is why re...

		2 KATHRYN STEINER, MBA Entrepreneur, United States
	Ego Management Critical to Minimizing Negative Political Environment @Nancy Roggen: there are still companies that allow the egos to dominate, whether this is negatively affecting the company or not. Flatter organization structures and the realization that traditional...

		3 T Lee, Australia
	Thinking Politically in a Government Agency Great post. I think there are a whole new set of issues though for middle managers in the government sector, which is inherently political. The challenge for leaders and problem solvers alike in thi...

		7 MICHAEL PETIT, PHD Director, Australia
	Not a Game for Beginners An organisation is just like any other social system. Underpinning every social system is a power structure. Invariably the power structure determines what is a legitimate action, a legitimate way of ...

		4 Dr. Alan Williams Professor, Thailand
	Organization Politics can be both Helpful and Desctructive Organization politics is here to stay. It can be helpful to gain buy-in, get resources, etc, and of course it can be destructive. A clever CEO knows the above and will be watching more for signs of d...

		0 RVRao Management Consultant, India
	How Corporate Order Politics are Affecting Solutions Mr Mustaffa''s detailed writing on this issue is not common in the corporate sector which is professionally managed by corporate leaders striving to achieve corporate goals. So he should elaborate o...

		3 Amyas Mvunelo Director, South Africa
	Leadership and Politics Leadership by its very nature and inevitably political across all sectors. All leaders must have a degree of political intelligence to know what is at stake with any decision and action. This does n...

		2 Yahong. Liu Manager
	Thinking Politically in the Corporate Environment I think an eligible manager should solve problems and provide appropriate solutions to the senior management for final decision. A team should have excellent internal communication to let every one ...

		3 VAN THIENEN, France
	Universality of Human Disorders in Organization @Quarterman Lee: Very nice analysis. Unfortunately, problem solvers are very isolated and feel alone. Maybe, they are in that working position because they are the one who agree with this impossible p...

		2 Tezera woldemedhin, Ethiopia
	How to Solve Problems in Politically Charged Companies I really appreciated the comment given by Abid Musteffa. It is a critical problem in most of the African nations. Political interference is here very big in both governmental organizations, NGOs and p...

		5 Dario Gragnani Manager, Italy
	Good Synthesis of a Real Problem The sad thing is that the problem solver must be something like a (super)hero. We should also reflect on how to design companies in such a way that conditions are unfavorable for positional annuities...

		1 Dominic Kingaby, United Kingdom
	Accept Custodians of the Corporate Order as a Universal Reality I think this is a superb explanation of the corporate reality but rather than think of 'custodians of the corporate order' as an issue or problem, they should be accepted as a universal reality, and w...

		2 Augustine Manyau, Zimbabwe
	Politically Charged Organisation are Hard for Change Agents I think this is the most difficult task for all change agents who want to solve problems in an environment where the organisations are mainly quasi government structures. The agent is not only faced w...

		6 Peter Condon Coach, United Kingdom
	Non-competitive Environments Will Develop a Political Pyramid Abid Mustafa, excellent article thank you and good additional insight by @William Stadler. Have witnessed exactly this strategy in small company CEO as company grew rapidly. Politics show in larger o...

		0 Marijan Vandekolk, Germany
	Having the Courage to Challenge the (existing) Corporate Order Excellent observation of behaviour. I agree with you it´s common, all around and most destructive, and as a consultant I absolutely agree you have to challenge it. In my opinion as a consultant you on...

		0 Qusai Mahgoub ICT Consultant, Sudan
	Environmental Impacts on Political Thinking The environment (external) affects the decisions in the organization directly. I mean by the environment the economic system, regulations and policies that should be considered for best and continuous...

		5 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	People, Managers and Organizations Have Different Drivers and Values, Causing Different (Use of) Politics When we're talking about politics in business organizations, it's useful to consider that employees, managers, leaders, departments, business units and entire organizations have different drivers (wha...

		3 JOSEPH SOLA ONIFADE Manager, Nigeria
	Selfishness Sometimes Outweighs Any Other Consideration The problems have been clearly enunciated. It is not that those who occupy leadership positions in organisations do not KNOW what to do to move their organisations to the next level. Often times the...

		0 Ndlovu Manager, United Kingdom
	Who Answers to the Corporate Political Thinking! These are wise observations and thoughts. My feeling is that senior management are the ones that will always think politically and answer to all politically deeds of the company, whereas the middle ma...

		2 Robert Sowell, United States
	Thinking Politically is Like Surfing For sociologists, politics is the expression and application of power. It's in all relationships and social structures. Thinking of politics as normal in our interactions may defuse a little of the ...

		2 ALBAN ONWULIRI, Nigeria
	Thinking Politically in a Corporate Environment In the corporate organization, the management team is established to think for the organization. The organizational thinkers who are also decision makers establish some set of goals and objectives pec...

		0 Yekini Iskilu, Nigeria
	The Problem Solver May Be Wiped to Fall in Line The issue is that serious, that the custodian of office order usually denies the problem solver what is due to him, in order to force him to abandon his mission. For example, his rights may suddenly b...

		0 Jim Carlin United States
	Who Seeks Power and Why Power corrupts - absolute power corrupts absolutely. It attracts those who do not examine their life - or anybody else....

		2 Osama Kamal Management Consultant, Egypt
	Examine the Value System that Governs I appreciate how Abid explained and gave a clear picture of the struggle that happens in many systems. But I think that if you work in an organization with poor corporate ethics, it's no use to figh...

		1 Yemi Smith Management Consultant, Nigeria
	Live and Let Die: the Irony of Reality Lovely piece. When personal interests supersede corporate interest, corporate order is what you get. It's a game of survival at all cost. Like Quarterman said, by the time the pain is too great to ign...

		1 Chenemi Student (University), South Africa
	Closely Linked with the Problem of Organisational Corruption @JOSEPH SOLA ONIFADE: I do strongly believe that the problem of selfishness is the one of the causes of organisational corruption. There is nothing as valuable as problems solvers who put the interest...

		1 Rantshoke David Makhema, South Africa
	The High Risk of Politics in Organisations Need Mitigation I agree with the author. Such organisations governed by politics eventually die and are open to high level of corruption and affecting the economy. See the Revitalisation Model described by Wallace in...

		2 Andrew Blaine Business Consultant, South Africa
	Politics and Problem Solving Politics is concerned with the management and accumulation of power. The solution of business problems, issues and challenges is concerned with the improvement in efficiency of a business entity. ...

		1 Sriraman Nellissery Ananthanarayanan Manager, Saudi Arabia
	Making Progress through Corporate Politics Looks like we are taking into one aspect of management. We all work in comfort level and corporate politics is to work within allowed comfort level in each step. We can make big changes staying with...

		2 Salhat Abbasova Manager, Azerbaijan
	Thinking Politically in the Corporate Environment A leader must choose the best strategy in order to ensure the further progress of the company. Both intellectual and creative approaches and political thinking are necessary for organisational leade...

		3 Namrata Ramchandra Shelar India
	Thinking Politically in the Corporate Environment Grows with Experience Thinking politically and not intellectually becomes an art through experience. I believe once we become an old player in this corporate order and start understanding thinking politically then and then...

		0 Adonis Business Consultant, France
	Politics May Radically Change the Management Structure Any company has to face new sociopolitical challenges and contexts. In a perspective to manage by culture & politics, internal & external collaborations must be correctly considered. The ability to ...

		2 leonard haggai oduori, Kenya
	Conditions for Engaging in Corporate Politics The strategies for creating successful interventions in an organization are very much a product of the uniqueness of an individual. If you are very competent in your career and have a stable economi...

		3 Roel van Tiel Analyst, Netherlands
	This Problem Can Only Be Changed from the Top Down Imho, in these types of companies, the only way to really change this is from the top. i.e. a strong CEO can keep it in check, like Dr. Alan Williams noted. The problem, when faced with such an envi...

		0 Jose Luis Gallardo R Manager, Mexico
	Thinking Politically in the Auto Industry Unfortunately the evolution in this segment is slow, because not to many top managers want to change their style or leadership. However, the evolution in the last 10 years is better but not enough. Ma...

		2 Dilip Khanal CEO, Nepal
	Political Thinking May Promote Agility Many organizations are normally slow in identifying the clients' requirements. A politician can identify and respond to customer requirements in a more speedy manner. A company meeting was discussin...

		0 Marijan Vandekolk, Germany
	Politically 'lost in Translations' @Dilip Khanal: I think we are getting "lost in translations" as we talk about 2 different kind of "political thinking". I guess we have to keep in mind that political thinking is different from the ...

		2 WINIFRED AMUGI Student (MBA), Ghana
	Every Individual is a Political Being Every individual is generally a political being and thus organisational politics cannot be ignored. The team leader should provide leadership in solving problems and thus the system must have a very g...

		2 Robert Sowell, United States
	Thinking Politically in Business is a Factor @Winifred Amugi : you are "spot on" with the observation that every "individual is...a political being and thus organizational politics cannot be ignored." But, we don't have to view it as always a ...

		6 Inken Lasar Germany
	Political Behavior is Evolutionary Heritage and Dependent on Cultural Context Excellent article – I agree that politics plays an important role in companies as well as everywhere else in life – in the end, following political motivations is nothing else than following the indiv...

		2 Sylvie Girard, Canada
	Politic and Problem Solving - Leadership is a Must Solving problems in a political environment is impossible without the power to influence the decision makers. This can only be achieved by finding, influencing and mobilizing the proper forces. Influe...

		0 edward sevume Sweden
	Corporate Politcs and Organizational Thinking I just finished reading a biography about Steve Jobs and one of the things that I realized was how good he was at politics at Apple. It dawned on me that politics in organizations is about who sets th...

		0 Ochora Onek Student (MBA), Uganda
	Corporates and Politics Good article by Mustaffa. Corporate politics belie the desire for self actualization by the different players near the apex of the organization. This in turn plays out with middle managers who expect ...

		4 Amit Deorukhkar United States
	A Solution for the Problem Solver in a Political Environment... The Problem Solver here will be at great risk and danger from Corporate Giants who play politically to safe guard their own gold in corporate world. Well, the Problem Solver could position the identi...

		0 Max Xiao Manager, China
	Master it Before Challenging It @Namrata Ramchandra Shelar: The best way to change a thing is to master it at first....