I am not good with playing politics. I got caught badly in one and had to quit. I don’t want to go into details. As I prepare for job interviews, I wonder how do I be careful next time. I bet there is politics in every company. I have gotten some tips from friends - 1. Update manager on progress often 2.talk to skip level 3. Blow it up and talk about our work What else ? What are the simple things you do ?
The most effective thing to do is build your network. Connect with and impress your boss' peers, influential people in your org and other orgs. Place yourself unashamedly in positions where your work and knowledge are visible so that others cannot back-stab you in private circles because you've cut into most circles! At interviews, ask about how things work and how decisions get made. See people's reactions and listen for what they aren't saying! Go by your gut. Walk away from that job if in doubt. (This is the toughest decision for most.)
Yes I agree ..
@oloo, can you elaborate. Let’s say you are working on a task. What do you do next ?
Connect with influencers and ask for feedback. That highlights your work. At other times, ask for someone to mentor you if they have time, or seek brief interviews/ 1:1 informally. Don't bring baggage or complain about anything in front of anyone.
Never worked at a place where politics was a major concern; it was always a 5-10% factor that could marginally hurt or help but nothing major. My only talks with skip are cross-disciplinary teams.
If you are good at what you do, and the top performer of your team you can transcend politics
Always maintain a matrix of supporters and detractors amongst the people you interact with regularly (peers, team members, product managers, product marketing folks, etc) continue to build relationships with supporters and keep your ears and eyes open to what detractors are saying about you. Some amount of paranoia is good to survive if you find yourself in a political environment.
How do you find out what detractors are saying about you
@AndIdid having conversations with coworkers during drinks after work usually reveals a lot of things that you won't hear in the office
Go work somewhere with limited politics. Having to manage politics on top of getting real work done is draining and annoying.
Hard to figure that out before you join don’t you think.
It’s hard, but there are signs. Read Glassdoor reviews and talk to current employees. You could also target midsize and small companies... they seem to have lower politics on average because they wouldn’t survive long with a bunch of people doing nothing useful all day and making decisions based on anything other than what is best for the company.
There is no guarantee that you will not have politics in midsize/small companies
Of course there isn’t. I’m just saying you are probably less likely to encounter it in well-run small and midsize companies vs. large companies. The type of person who succeeds primarily through politics is spotted as an imposter faster and more coworkers are less tolerant of their BS than when there is a great big org chart for the politicians to hide in, or worse, for them to build an empire of crony do-nothings out of.
Yes, I see your point.
You live in the era of MeToo. Out them! Seriously, the workplace is a eat or be eaten jungle. Learn to be just like those who hurt you and you will survive.
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What does talk to skip level mean and why and how to do it? Could you please elaborate?
Some companies do not have the culture of skip level meetings. My company didnot. So I kept scheduling meetings myself. Skip level is your boss‘ boss. So it is to know what is really going on. Your boss may not tell u everything. It is also for your boss’s boss to know what you do.
If your boss is immature doing skip levels on your own will be threatening. Be aware of that.