I work for a large corporation. Need tips on handling favoritism (based on personality,not productivity) and clicishness. How to handle a manager who publicly undermines my efforts (does this to others too) but only in secret, he does not want his boss to know. I ccan give more details if someone has specific advice on this problem. thanks.

-- K L Gibson (klgibson88@aol.com), October 15, 2000

Answers

It's called politics because that's exactly what it is. (forget all the negative stuff we hear - it's a tough, thankless, lifetime job... in which you learn to take a lot of abuse) Think of what it takes to be an effective politician, who networks constantly, goes to meeting after meeting, keeps communication flowing among a large group of people interested in issues, and is as honest a broker as it is possible to be.

The old saying, "don't get mad, get even," is wrong. It should be, "don't get mad or try to get even, get ahead." You don't win at politics in the long run by making the other guy on your team look bad. In fact, if you can make everyone look good, you are very successful. Organizations are like sieves. The grapevine can tell you who's good and who isn't in a flash... just go ask about someone and you'll find most people know. The only person you won't hear about is yourself. It's very difficult to get feedback that is good, bad, constructive or otherwise. Yet everyone else in the company knows exactly how good or bad you are... based on who you've helped, who you've solved problems for, who you've kept informed about things they needed to know (if it's accurate, you're in). So keep helping your boss. Help everyone who your boss depends on and who depends on him. Help like your career depends on it, 'cause it does. They will all know who helped... and they all talk. Wait out the favourites, who are less helpful to people because they don't have to be. It usually doesn't take long what with the pace at which things change these days.

I know this is pretty generic, but at the end of the day, regardless of the specific brand of personalities involved, this is the only, and the best solution. If the other players all just turn your stomach, then the only solution is a different job. You have to be able to grin and bear it while you are succeeding and waiting for the recognition.

-- Dave Crisp (dcrsip62@home.com), October 15, 2000.

I concur with Dave Crisp's view point. The first rule of office politics is make sure you do your job well so you don't give ammo out. The second rule is preparing a strategy for promotion. Let their actions become a motivation for you to become their peer or even succeed them. Maybe you should read Art of War by Sun Tzu to get a different perspective.

Ultimately, if you find the same thing happening whereever you go then the problem may be with you, otherwise, remember, there are other jobs and if you really don't expect to be valued by this organization then at some time you have to make a decision how much you value yourself and the corner you may be wedged in.

Above all, relax, office politics is about who wants power most, so as David says, help people succeed in what they want, sometimes that can become the fastest way of getting rid of them.

And lastly, no don't give out more details, the more details you give, the more you become a part of the problem. If you are a great employee or contributor to your company, be sure of one thing, someone out there is ready to value you.

-- Mark Zorro (zorromark@consultant.com), October 16, 2000.