Politic-king

Every time the word politics is mentioned, it immediately associates with a negative connotation. And indeed the act of playing politics is a dirty game. Citizens around the world see how their nation's leaders wrestle power from opposition parties and even engage in war of words (hopefully not another actual physical war) with other nations. Yet politics is not exclusive to people involved in a political party at a national level. Politics or the act of politicking seems to have pervaded several aspects of our lives.

A bright friend, after graduating from top schools, was offered a job in a prestigious brand company. She excelled in her career and rose through the ranks rapidly. It wasn't a bed of roses and the higher up she went, the more effort she had to deal with the office politics. Writing e-mails to shoot opposing factions within the company, wrestling power from peers in order to push through deadlines to deliver high-impact projects, and much more until it eventually took a toll on her health and her family life. One day she woke up and decided she had enough of this mindless rat race. So she quit her high paying job and went to India to join a Buddhist mission group. She decided that she needed to distance herself from all the world's cruel human politics and focus to discover her own spiritual being and gain back her sanity. She was in this somewhat self-imposed retreat or break for 3 years while her family fully supported her decision as they too couldn't bear to see her in that depressed state from working previously. In these 3 years, being the capable lady that she is, she stepped up to hold certain appointments within the mission group. Then once again politics reared its hideous head. She had tried so hard to avoid politics; innocently thinking that by being in a spiritual organisation, it should help her gain enlightenment and find happiness, but alas no! Members of the group exhibited classic political traits like forming factions and colluding to make life difficult for others, including slandering each other behind their backs. Up to a certain point, she couldn't take it any more and after 3 years, she left and returned to her family in Singapore feeling lost and empty. Life seemed so meaningless and pointless especially when there seems to be no escape from ugly politics. It took her quite a while to finally get back to her feet with the support of family and close friends. She had regained her purpose in life; She paired up with a couple of friends to do a home business which consisted of baking cookies for part profit and part charity. She realised feel good by focusing on her family (she has 2 lovely kids) and giving back to society. She could dictate her own schedule by managing the business around her family and the best part is, the exposure to politics is minimised.

Many strive to avoid environments with politics but given how prevalent it is in modern society, it may be rather impractical. Apart from the usual office politics, I have also seen tussles amongst priests and church ministers. It is such a shame especially in religious organisations (and even charitable volunteer groups) where instead of focusing on serving the greater good, people choose to engage in self-serving activities. For some, politics can even occur in their cliques of "friends". It almost seem like these people have a sadistic nature which gain sick enjoyment from seeing others suffer. So if you can't beat them, should you just join them? Well for a fact, what goes around, does come around. Engaging in politics is like playing with fire, if you're not careful and don't watch your back constantly, you would simply get burnt!

How then can one avoid politics? It's simply not practical to keep avoiding it as much as possible; at some point, you would still need to deal with it in order to accomplish certain deeds or be in position or job that you like. There are ways to manage and navigate through politics. The first step is to be aware that it exists without judging. Be aware of your surroundings and observe people. Don't just shy sway from gatherings and avoid contact with others, as that is akin to an ostrich putting its head in the ground, hoping that politics won't get to you. In addition, don't go start judging and classifying who's the bootlicker or who's the backstabber, etcetera, as that only makes you unduly paranoid.

If you're a leader (includes managers and supervisors), then you definitely have an influence over how much politics will affect the immediate environment. Set clear directions and expectations for the team down to individual level as much as possible, then practise transparency as a policy; that will prevent subterranean activities (on the surface, folks may appear to be cordial but behind backs, misinformation and gossip could be spread). Always address issues by the merit of the deed and not directly attribute them to a particular person e.g. don't say stuff like "so-and-so screwed up our project" and instead focus on constructive feedback like "instead of attempting to get more quotes and delaying the decision process, a decision should have been made based quotes from the few reliable suppliers especially for time-critical parts where long lead times has resulted in the costly delay of the project". On the same note, don't just address negative events, remember to render credit and gratitude where it is due. Being transparent means articulating what things were done well and what were not and how the team can focus to work through issues in a constructive and positive manner instead of focusing on who's fault it is (which happens in many organisations).

If you're just an employee, or a fellow team member, then in a similar way, behave in a transparent manner. Avoid engaging in gossips about how someone did badly or help perpetuate such negativity. Nothing is preventing you from saying thanks to people who have helped you (even to higher-ups) and also voicing your opinion about things that were done well. Don't develop the narrow-minded attitude that it's only reserved for bosses to communicate such stuff; are you implying lower levels can't express simple things like thanks? To avoid being targeted as a scapegoat, always document your work clearly (usually via e-mails these days) and keep your superior updated regularly on your progress. Keep all work-related communication professional without adding feelings into it. If you think about it when it comes to appraisals, if your boss felt you didn't contribute much in the year but if you have it well documented, you could easily dispute it with cold hard evidence. And if you have been following up with your boss throughout the year, then there's no reason for your boss to feel that way in the first place. Some folks feel that's pretty pretentious to blow your own trumpet but what's required is not shameless self-promotion; all you have to do is stick to the facts.

In summary, it's pointless to avoid politics in a broader sense of the word but it can be managed such that it doesn't control your life. If you choose to dabble in it, then like the fire it's analogous to, it can either aid your cause or cause you to get burnt. Whatever it is, hopefully the above can give a good brief insight on the topic.