A Rather Political Dilemma — March 2004

How much is political game playing costing your business? Research has estimated that politicking is costing UK plc £7.8bn each year; and that's just the time cost! We recently came across a project that was £30m and 3 years beyond its sell-by date, but incredibly close to an executive-retirement date. I'm sure you can think of examples of your own.

When we talk to people about politics, we always get a strong reaction. Sometimes this is ugly and rarely is it enlightened. The topic ushers forth a variety of emotive sentiments. It appears that politics is an all-pervasive activity that is derided by all, played by many and ignored by the rest. Any wonder it gets so much bad press! However if you peer behind this we see a very real opportunity for good.

The fact is that power and politics exist in all organisations, regardless of size, style or structure. And that's not going to change, nor should it. The big opportunity is to ensure that they are used positively and transacted for the benefit everyone. By enabling people to use their power positively and appropriately, and working to eliminate (or at least minimise) political game playing, dirty tricks, caucusing and spin, we can make a huge impact on the financial balance sheet, as well as the emotional balance sheet.

Which brings us to the dilemma. If you get such strong negative reactions when you raise the subject, how can you cut through this and bring forward the benefits of all of the positive activity? Yet you must cut through it at some stage. Leaving the situation unchecked allows a vicious circle to form. With the increasing ferocity of the competitive environment, it is becoming increasingly important that this is turned around to become virtuous.

We believe it takes strong, courageous and determined leadership to turn an organisation. It necessitates a well thought out programme of initiatives that can start small, build on successes and eventually create a genuine shift in the cultural values of the organisation.

The starting point is to build understanding of power and politics. To help senior managers to recognise what is happening and understand its impact. Then be able to bring the game playing out into the open and start to foster a more collegiate atmosphere. We are finding that it is possible to get Machiavelli on the run, and to give him no place to hide, if you are careful!

Over the last few years we have been building our expertise in this area. Inspired by the work of Eric Berne and the field of Transactional Analysis, we have been able to bring this work into the real world of office politics. By making it relevant and captivating we have been able to get people to listen. Perhaps the most enjoyable part of our work is seeing the lights go on and people growing in confidence that they really can do something about the problem.

Often the most successful way to get the ball rolling is to focus on the major change programmes that have already been identified as being critically important. Success is often thwarted by unseen power plays. How much have you spent on change programme that failed to live up to the business case? If you can get your change team working authentically in the full knowledge of power and politics, you can start to get an immediate payback on your investment.

The great organisational performance improvement opportunity of the 21st C is not going to be focused on TQM, ISO, IIP, Six Sigma or any of these other process type initiatives, great though they are. The real opportunity is to tackle the political dimension head-on. To grow our understanding and capability to use power positively.

The only dilemma now is how to find a moment to call one of our partners!

Mike Phipps

March 2004