Underneath the Iceberg

Organisations, whatever their purpose and regardless of shape, structure and size, have their internal politics and a myriad of different ways in which power is used and abused.

For those of us working in organisations, the important question is not does power and politics exist around here (only the political ostriches indulge in this type of naïve, wishful thinking), but what kind of power culture do we have? And for us as individuals the key question is, what is the personal cost of involvement or avoidance?

First, the bad news; there are some political creatures out there for whom these questions do not have any resonance. For them, organisational power exists as a force for them to pursue their own agenda of self-interest, and politics is the interpersonal battleground where the action takes place. For them there is no personal cost. At some stage, they decided that it was acceptable to exploit the organisation and its people, and use what power they have to get what they want. They do not see (or do not care about) the damage they do to the organisation by their self-interest. For them there are no sleepless nights agonising over values and morality. They are not interested in building long-term credibility and integrity, having decided instead that short-term, quick wins are preferred. For them the organisation's values are just that — the organisation's.

This is as understandable as it is unfortunate. In these days of downsizing, redundancies, reorganisation and merge-over-and-out activities, it is easy to see how — for some — the psychological contract is a lie. Why build long-term credibility when none of us are guaranteed to be here tomorrow? Why be loyal to the organisation when the organisation appears to have only transitory loyalty to us? Better get what we can in the short time we are here is their mantra.

Anyone in your team, department or organisation come to mind yet?

The real cost of inappropriate politics and abuses of power, is something of an iceberg effect in that much of it is hidden and, whilst the cost is complex to evaluate, it is a significant organisational audit. In 2002, the Reed Report calculated the cost of office politics as £7.8bn per annum for the UK.

How much money is your organisation wasting due to ineffective politicking and abuses of power?

To get your thinking started about the underside of the political iceberg in your organisation, here are some starter questions.

What is the impact (of inappropriate power and politics) on individual morale and motivation?
What is the impact on team focus and commitment?
What is the personal cost in terms of self-esteem, integrity and credibility?
What is the cost to our customers, clients and contracts?
What is the benefit to our competitors of our own political infighting?
To what extent does this undermine the organisation's stated vision and values?
Given that the Reed Report discovered that managers typically spend one hour per day engaged in politics, how much would that come in at for you, your team or your department?
If you added up a broad pound/dollar/yen value on all the above, would you be happy presenting that figure to the shareholders or declaring it in the annual report?

In addition, if your organisation is working in the area of heath, safety or any public service you might like to consider the extent to which public money is wasted or lives and health imperilled.

Clearly, there is a huge opportunity here for wise organisations to divert this waste away from the bottomless pit and back onto the balance sheet and we have a wealth of practical tools and ideas about how you can transform the political climate of your organisation. To get started, you might like to check out other areas of this site.

For more information, contact us or talk to one of our partners.

Mike Phipps

February 2004