Cupcake diplomacy sweetens office politics
You can’t avoid office politics so learn to play defence and keep your integrity, writes Caitlin Fitzsimmons.
OPINION: I have a friend who swears her most effective workplace tool is the humble cupcake. She uses sweet treats to build team camaraderie and show appreciation for a job well done.
I’ve tried it from time to time and found it especially effective to sweeten the deal when I need to ask for help.
My husband, working with mostly younger male colleagues in the technology industry, has his own version, often buying a round of coffees and occasionally doughnuts for the team.
Whether you’re a team member or a manager, the modern workforce requires a great deal of teamwork and collaboration.
Even if you mostly work autonomously, it’s prudent to have some goodwill in the bank.
Let’s call it cupcake diplomacy. It’s a delicious form of office politics.
When we think of office politics, the implication is usually nasty. We think of power struggles, allegiances, backstabbing, sabotage and malicious gossip. Some people thrive on it, but most people find it utterly miserable.
But office politics is also just a term for the relationships you have at work and it doesn’t have to be negative.
I’ve been blessed to have several jobs with generous colleagues who take pride in working together as a team to achieve the best possible outcome. That’s office politics too.
Some people try to avoid office politics, keeping their heads down and focusing on the work.
But it’s not really possible to avoid office politics altogether because workplaces employ humans, each with different personalities and competencies and ambitions, who all need to interact to get their jobs done.
Maybe one day if robots replace all your colleagues … but then you’d probably be in the unemployment queue too.
If you studiously focus on the work and ignore the people element, you might have a clear conscience but you’re leaving yourself vulnerable to being undermined or sidelined.
There’s no justification for becoming Machiavellian in your pursuit of career progression, but everyone should know how to play office politics as a defensive game.
The first step is to develop as wide a network as possible within your workplace.
Chat to people in the lunch room or the lift – even if you’re not naturally gregarious, a smile and hello will go a long way.
Remember to be as friendly and polite to the admin assistants as the bosses. Why? Treating people with equal dignity is the right thing to do. But for more selfinterested reasons too. They may move up in the world more quickly than you expect. And you won’t be accused of brown-nosing if you’re friendly to everyone.
If you don’t develop relationships at work then you could be left isolated and vulnerable if there’s a breakout of office intrigue.
If you make a few friends, but don’t cultivate friendly connections across the organisations, then you could find yourself on one side of a pitched battle without many good options.
I’ve been asked how you deal with office politics when senior leaders disagree. I think if you’re on good terms with everyone, then you have the best chance of being neutral and picking your battles, perhaps even being a peacemaker.
Second, the work does matter, but you also have to let people know about it. You don’t need to toot your own horn, but you won’t get anywhere by hiding your light under a bushel.
Don’t get so focused on the work that you let others take all the credit, or you lose status because others are playing games.
Don’t just praise yourself. Look for opportunities to give credit where credit’s due.
This is partly about paying it forward, and treating other people how you’d like to be treated yourself. And it’s also because it builds your own reputation for integrity and fairness.
Same goes for taking responsibility – don’t deflect the blame and that way you’re more likely to be believed when something is genuinely not your fault. You don’t need to take the blame for someone else, but understand that being ‘‘right’’ is not always the highest virtue.
One of my mentors once told me when a manager chastises you for something, nine times out of 10 their goal is simply to get the unpleasant conversation over with, so they can move on. If you argue back, you’re thwarting their purpose and dragging it out.
He says it’s almost always better just to say, ‘‘Sorry, it won’t happen again.’’ If there were mitigating circumstances, learn to spot them early so you can flag them in advance next time. –Sydney Morning Herald