Individuals who experience greater organizational politics are more likely to report
higher levels of job anxiety,^80 and they are more likely to consider leaving the
organization.^81
Is there an effective way to engage in office politics that is less likely to be disruptive
or negative? We discussed different negotiation strategies in Chapter 6, including a win-
losestrategy, which means that if I win, you lose, and a win-winstrategy, which means cre-
ating situations where both of us can win. Fast Company,a business magazine, identifies
several rules that may help you make your way through the office politics maze:^82- Nobody wins unless everybody wins.The most successful proposals look for ways
to acknowledge, if not include, the interests of others. This requires building
support for your ideas across the organization. “Real political skill isn’t about
campaign tactics,” says Lou DiNatale, a veteran political consultant at the
University of Massachusetts. “It’s about pulling people toward your ideas and
then pushing those ideas through to other people.” When ideas are packaged
to look as if they are best for the organization as a whole and will help others,
it is harder for others to counteract your proposal. - Don’t just ask for opinions—change them.It is helpful to find out what people
think and then, if necessary, set out to change their opinions so that they can
see what you want to do. It is also important to seek out the opinions of those
you don’t know well, or who are less likely to agree with you. Gathering
together people who always support you is often not enough to build an effec-
tive coalition. - Everyone expects to be paid back.In organizations, as in life, we develop per-
sonal relationships with those around us. It is those personal relationships
that affect much of the behaviour in organizations. By building good relation-
ships with colleagues, supporting them in their endeavours, and showing
appreciation for what they accomplish, you are building a foundation of sup-
port for your own ideas. - Success can create opposition.As part of the office politics, success can be viewed
as a win-losestrategy, which we identified above. Some people may feel that
your success comes at their expense. So, for instance, your higher profile may
mean that a project of theirs will be received less favourably. You have to be
prepared to deal with this opposition.
SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS
1 What is power?Power refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behaviour of
B, so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.
2 How does one get power?There are six bases or sources of power: coercive,
reward, legitimate, expert, referent, and information. These forms of power differ
in their ability to improve a person’s performance. Coercive powertends to result in
negative performance responses from individuals; it decreases satisfaction, increases
mistrust, and creates fear. Reward powermay improve performance, but it can also
lead to unethical behaviour. Legitimate powerdoes not have a negative effect, but does
not generally stimulate employees to improve their attitudes or performance, and
it does not generally result in increased commitment. Ironically, the least effec-
tive bases of power—coercive, legitimate, and reward—are the ones most likely to
be used by managers, perhaps because they are the easiest to implement. By con-
trast, effective leaders use expert and/or referent power;these forms of power are
not derived from the person’s position. Information powercomes from access to240 Part 3Interacting EffectivelyFast CompanyMagazine
http://www.fastcompany.comSNAPSHOT SUMMARY
1 A Definition of Power
2 Bases of Power
Coercive Power
Reward Power
Legitimate Power
Expert Power
Referent Power
Information Power
Evaluating the Bases of
Power