Can you have sincerity in office politics?

Technically, yes. You can have a person or ( God forbid! ) persons who are very sincere in their efforts to manipulate office politics for the advantage of a few. That few is always their few.

Office politics thrives until someone introduces the outside element of sincerity, integrity, honesty. Sincerity dispels office politics like sunlight dispel darkness. No, that comparison is not too extreme.

One person courageous enough, innocent enough, encouraged enough to share a sincere motive, data, question, is enough to transform a politicized office environment into one that is united, engaged, focused.

It sounds so simple; it is.

It sounds so true; it is. (So, what’s happened to our national leaders? This is a bi-partisan question. I digress. )

The trick is where do you find this person or (God willing!) persons?

How do you support them?

Are you ready for a few bumps in the road if your office culture is best described as...political.

Lead Change Group posted on this topic. Sincerity and Office Politics. It starts with a great quote from a sincerely funny man: Groucho Marx. And it ends with 6 steps to restore sincerity.

Each of their six steps is excellent. To drive the right traffic and credit, read their post.

Their post hit home for me, personally and professionally. I wanted to add a few more thoughts, more than a comment's worth at their site.

1). Use a wiki. Wikis are powerful collaborative tools to foster engagement, participation, openness and transparency. This sentence could be re-written as Wikis are powerful collaborative tools to foster sincerity.

I have used Basecamp* from 37Signals for 3-4 years now. Now there are many more wiki options. Here’s a page to compare the many options.

How does a wiki foster sincerity? By putting it all down in writing for all to see. All down in writing is all of the conversations and debates, data and decisions, and timelines and to-do's. All to see is all who are involved, directly or indirectly, in a project, an idea, a strategy or tactic development, a hiring decision...

That is the essence of transparent and open communication. That eliminates the leverage points of those who indulge in political maneuverings. No secrets? No faux access to priviledge and power.

Wikis are not the only means to foster sincerity in your organization. But they do offer simple, easy-to-use, features which when used fosters collaboration, transparency and openness. The disappearance of office politics is the flip side of that coin.

2). Expect resistance. Changing your office culture from one of secrets and whispers to one of openness and transparency is a huge undertaking even with willing participants. But there will be unwilling participants whose behaviors and personal issues will be revealed.

What are the 4 stages of change?

• Denial

• Resistance

• Exploration

• Acceptance

You will experience each of those. How long you experience each stage depends on:

• you, the leader and your leadership skills

• the nature of your office culture

• the nature of your office culture as lived by each individual in your office

• your industry

• more

3). Transparent organization = Transparent individuals. You will become a transparent, open and collaborative organization to the extent each individual can allow transparent and open communications with themselves, with each other.

Mandates, tools and resources, information and preparation can all help smooth and speed this process of change. But, only if those involved are willing AND able to change.

You can help inspire change. You cannot force lasting change.

4). Expect turbulence. Consider a thunderstorm. It is warm air and coold air colliding. The change here is akin to a thunderstorm. It is secrets and openness colliding in an open space. You, the leader, are the pilot with your office-mates the passenger. And you are flying through this thunderstorm.

Some people are unwilling and unable emotionally to make that transition. They may be your friends, your best performers...to-date. What will you decide when they are unwilling or unable to help others rise in performance? What happens when the company changes but they cannot? Will they be allowed to interfere?

Unlike the pilot, you cannot make them sit down. Unlike the pilot you do not have to carry them to your destination.

You will very likely face those questions.

5). Preparation is key. Prepare yourself in order to help prepare your office-mates.

• Talk with leaders who have made this change. Find out what they learned, what worked, what failed.

• Talk with leaders who tried and failed to make this change.

• Research. Find out how you can prepare your office mates for this change. Find out the common reasons why they may resist those changes. (For a politicized environment, magnify the emotions and the impact of those with vested interests in your current environment.) Provide solutions. Share this conversation with them openly.

6) Follow the Steps 5 and 6 from the post of Lead Group Change

• Encourage patience and grace – authenticity is proven over time.

• Celebrate progress – Repeatable success over time builds confidence.

7). Resistance is futile. Transparent and open cultures are the ultimate competitive edge for a business of any size. Learn to be a leader in bringing this competitive edge to your organization. Now is the time.

Good luck.

* Basecamp. I am an affiliate with Basecamp. But the link above goes directly to their site without an affiliate reward.

Comments

[5s presentation]

Office politics is an interesting subject. In most cases, it affects how employees behave. That's why it is advantageous to provide office trainings, like 5s presentations in order to provide a safe, peaceful and conducive for working workplace.