Politics can be pretty distasteful. “My team is better than your team.” There is a lot of posturing, manipulating information and situations, trying to take credit or discredit where possible … all to look good and gain favour. It’s bad enough putting up with this in governments, worse when we have to face it on a daily basis, at work.

Office Politics — the interplay and strategies of individuals within an organisation to establish and maintain an informal hierarchy, and how the individuals relate and fit within the group. It’s not limited to offices. Any situation that brings individuals together in ‘community’ will likely have its own internal politics — from the White House to the PTA Boardrooms, charities, clubs and associations … even our social networks. Beyond the formal structure exists, there will be individuals vying to gain authority, power, influence or just be heard. This is exacerbated by competitive environments where resources and advancement are seen as limited.

Tactics in this backstage battle for power include: playing games like ‘divide and conquer’ (pitting co-workers against each other) or the ‘holding all the cards trick’ — (controlling information output to others) gossip (where the objective is to gain advantage over others) coercion, discrediting, tattle-taling, back-stabbing …

Occasionally internal politicking is deliberately used to benefit the company. Sub-groups form to instigate change of a prevailing negative culture or redirect inadequate management. Often though it is machinations of individuals acting for personal gain that can reduce a productive working environment into what can feel like a nursery school playground or an episode of ‘Survivor’. Squabbling workmates split into different camps and alliances, wondering who to trust, what is expected of them and when it will end.

Clients have sought coaching after being exhausted by a degenerating situation in their workplace, feeling alienated and even bullied. Rife office politics quickly drain morale and strain relationships, ultimately damaging the bottom line as time and resources are consumed at the expense of the team.

“Politics cloud our judgment and consideration. They also have a strong tendency of preventing us from achieving our full and true potential. What an incredible amount of time people waste on minding other people’s business to the point of creating severe injustices,” wrote Tom Lowery, Corporate Trainer and Forbes contributor in response to an article on the subject.

Why do we do it? Why do people engage in what can often objectively be seen as immature or selfish behaviour? What reduces us to act from such a place of lower self? Boredom perhaps. If people are not feeling fulfilled or stretched they can turn their sights to stirring up trouble to experience a little variety and excitement.

Fear is a major contributor. If it is perceived as a ‘dog-eat-dog world’, many would opt to be the diner than the dinner. There may be fears of losing their job or promotion, or underlying fear of not being good enough on their own merit or for not having the same or better as others. Being vulnerable is also a fear for many. Being perceived as weak or inexperienced or not having all the answers can feel like a threat to status, position and authority. Up go defensive walls and offensive attacks before someone else does. Politicking can also be a diversion technique — concentrating on other people’s business so as not to have to look at our own.

Whatever the driving forces, office politics, in some form, are hard to avoid. We may think we can simply stay out of it. I’ve had clients explain that all they wanted was to do a good job, keep their head down and stay out of all the internal turmoil. This stance often resulted in the gossip being turned on them or becoming victim to ganging-up on or bullying or being overlooked by a management oblivious to the situation.

Assuming we cannot avoid it, what are some practical measures so as not to be hijacked by water-cooler warfare and remain as unscathed and productive as possible?

Pick your battles. Any situation will likely present things that do not meet our expectations, perhaps even our standards or values. Knowing what we can live with, let go of or quietly adjust so we can live with, reduces emotion and time lost to the less significant. Not constantly nit-picking means when we do have something to say, people are more likely to listen.

Deep breaths. Finding ways to take our time before responding to others, particularly in a heated or emotional exchange, can save us from escalating the situation or saying something we could later regret. Practicing our impulse control and composure can empower us against the reactionary climate of office politics.

Stick to the facts. Removing opinion and emotion from a situation helps us objectively determine what is actually going on. Paring down to the facts can diffuse a fraught or tense interaction and makes finding a win/win solution more likely.

Look out for the best interest of the company — keeping our objectives on the bottom line and progress of the organisation focuses our energy and attention.

Choke the Gossip — Engaging in gossip damages our own credibility. Waiting until we’ve calmed down before blabbing damning stories to someone else sets us up to better handle the situation directly and find resolution rather than acrimony. If others are gossiping, hear it, recognise it for what it is, and be mindful not to encourage the gossiper or pass it on.

Look for Transference and Projection — we can use challenges in the workplace to learn more about ourselves and our own needs/behaviours/fears and desires. Asking questions like: in what way am I seeing in others what I expect to see, based on past relationships that I am projecting onto this situation? Why exactly do I find this colleague’s behaviour/attitude/actions so objectionable? Am I, in some way, displaying this same behaviour? Seeking to understand the motivations and fears behind another’s behaviour (try using a maternal or paternal gaze) can help us see how we can perhaps soften or help them fulfil their need or soothe their fear, and in changing our behaviour, can positively influence theirs.

Assess the playing field when entering any new company, position or situation. Take time to deduce who the main ‘politicians’ are, what their agenda might be and what games or tactics they engage in so as not to get caught in the crossfire. Build our own implicit positive support system and culture where we can in the organisation. Practice celebrating successes, whose ever they might be, and sharing credit where due.

Encourage regular communication between managers and staff (group and one-to-one) so that needs are being heard, expectations from both sides expressed, projects/time/effort and progress etc are accounted for and feedback is facilitated.

Be aware that people have different ideas about how much to share and what personal information is appropriate in the workplace. Being cautious about what we say and even what we divulge ‘in confidence’ can save us from having it thrown back at us if a campaign emerges.

When all else fails, keep documentation. If a situation escalates and winds up gong to HR, it is important to show our actions taken.

Stick to our values. Feeling compromised in an ongoing way in any long-term situation can leave us feeling resentful, miserable and exhausted. If we have diligently done what we can to find solutions and positively influence the environment to no avail, it could be worth seeking a different working situation more aligned to our preferences, philosophies and value systems, empowering us to be supported contributors.

Julia Pitt is a trained Success Coach and certified NLP practitioner on the team at Benedict Associates. For further information contact Julia on (441) 705-7488, www.juliapittcoaching.com.