Political Landmines

thepowermoves.com/courses/power-university/lessons/acquiring-political-awareness-skills/topic/political-
landmines

Political landmines are hidden or semi-hidden traps and risk-behaviors that can derail
your career.

This lesson shows you what they are, why, and how to avoid falling for them.

1. Getting Chummy With Falling Stars

Who are falling stars?

Falling stars are former high flyers who are losing power.

Falling stars often know fully well they are on their way down, and guess what happens?

Their former, inaccessible and haughty selves suddenly become friendly and gregarious.

And lower-level employees, star-struck by their big names, are all too happy to get closer
to them.

Often that’s not a good idea.

The issue is that falling stars are falling because they royally screwed up an important
project, or pissed off someone at the very top.

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If you get too close to them, they won’t help you up for sure. And they might even take you
down.

Their newly minted bad reputation will infect you like a disease: upper management will
see you as the friend of their enemy.
And that makes you an enemy, too.

Mindsets and attitudes also matter.

Falling stars are sometimes in the last weeks in the organization, and they can get bitter
and negative. Once they’re out, you’ll be out of a (useless) friend and will still be reeling
from the bad infection.

2. Taking Sides Too Early

What do the politically clueless do during a power struggle?

They quickly take up arms for one side or the other.

Which, of course, is as smart as betting on red or black -that is, not smart at all-.

The political strategist instead keeps cordial relations with both warring
factions. He waits out the political struggle -or at least until it’s safe to place his chips-.
And in the meanwhile, he looks like he is too busy focusing on work and work
only to worry about warfare.

That way, whoever wins, they will consider him a friend of the organization.

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He delivers results, seems only concerned about the overall health of the organization and
looks supra-partes, garnering respect from both factions.
Whoever wins, he’ll be fine.

Then, when the war ends, strong of his reputation, he begins his own political
campaigning.

2.2. Or: pick (both) sides privately

The Machiavellian move is to take sides privately.

That way, if the side you picked wins, you’re on the winning coalition. If they lose, nobody
will know.
See Pete Campbell in Mad Men doing exactly that:

Watch Video At: https://youtu.be/rDtrIUytECo

Of course, the most Machiavellian thing you could is to take sides, privately, with both
factions.
The risk they will communicate with each other is low.
Then, whichever faction wins, you will get your reward.

3. Showing Off Knowledge Smart-Alec Style

The smart-alec style can function to acquire power.

But it’s rather poor within organizations.

Especially since the people at the top don’t like other people who make them feel inferior.

Yes, knowledge gives you power, but it’s either knowledge that people seek and come to
you for that is most valuable.

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Knowledge that is thrown around to look smart and bright is try-hard bragging.
And it rubs people in power the wrong way.

4. “Licking Up & Kicking Down”

Licking up and kicking down.

How many times have you heard that as the “Machiavellian” way of winning at office
politics?

Except it’s only true in the most fucked up organizations.

Just think of it: who’s more likely to succeed in the long run, the person who is hated by
his subordinates and loved by his superiors, or the person who is loved and respected up
and down the chain?
Exactly…

Having support from below is like leading a grassroots movement. When it becomes large
enough, it can help you carry upward.

And of course, you never know who will become the next heavy hitter, and people who
seem useless today might become useful in the future.

4.2. The Machiavellian Version: “Shine Up, Praise Down”

The Machiavellian way of playing this game is to shine upward, and sprinkle empty
praises downward.

Make your team feel good so they’ll keep working hard, but never do anything that
actually helps them advance -or leave you-.

So pay particular attention to bosses who praise you a lot within the team, but not outside
of it.

That’s the Machiavellian way of hugging all the credit where it matters -with the upper
management- and keeping you happy -but stuck- within the team.

The internal praise is the equivalent of throwing some ego candies while the boss truly
works on his own career -with your own hard work-.

5. Gossiping (the Politically Dumb Way)

Yes, there is power in receiving information.

And there is also power in being “in the know” in the company.

And yes, sharing juicy information does show some power for being part of a restricted
circle of informational flow.
I paraphrase Geoffrey Miller:

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 If the gossiper knows news that the listener does not know, the gossiper may have privileged
access to secrets, or a better social network. That is, the gossiper must have high social
status

Gossiping also helps form “cliques”, which can be the beginning of power alliances.
So, yes, there are some political advantages in gossiping.

But you must be careful with gossiping.

The first thing you need to be careful of is reputation.

When you gossip you give away information and you get back the reputation
of a gossiper.
I’m of the opinion that from a power point of view, gossiping is in large part harmful ego-
massaging.

It’s an indirect way of bragging you got good access to information, but it comes at heavy
costs.

Of course, people will like you for sharing the gossip. But they also lose respect for you.
Everyone uses and enjoys a gossiper, but nobody respects him.

The second major issue is: who are you forming a gossiping clique with?
Because a good chunk of gossiping happens at the lower level of the organization, with
people using gossip as an escape valve for their humdrum boring job.

Most of all, avoid gossiping with those below you

Alright, if you share gossip strategically, there can be power.

But very rarely there is any power in sharing gossip with those below you.

The worst type of gossiping is negative gossiping, with people below your pay grade. There
is nothing to gain there and everything to lose.
“Showing off” your political knowledge to those below you adds little value because you
are already in a power position towards them.
And there is little benefit from an exchange point of view because the truly important
information comes from above, not from below.

Look at the politically smart character of Joan handling negative gossip from lower-level
colleagues:

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Watch Video At: https://youtu.be/RPFZEK97NeQ

Joan rightly refuses to entertain gossipy conversation with someone who is below her

Keep the good information for the people at your level or higher, and only use it
strategically.
Don’t gossip just for gossiping’s sake: all you get back is a bad reputation.

PRO Tip: Gossip smart. Communicate power, while keeping a spotless

reputation

There are better ways of showing you are in the know than gossiping, talking behind
people’s back, and giving out details of other people’s lives.

For example, when others share juicy information with you, you can nod and mutter
“yeah, I know”.

“How does he know?”, people will think.

And they will conclude that you are just in the know as they are, probably more. And will
respect you for keeping your mouth shut.

Or consider this simple, yet genius technique: only share positive information that makes
people look good.

For example, you can say that it makes sense the managing director stays in shape
because he runs 5km every morning.
How do you know that?
When you know those personal details about people, it means you must be close to them.
People will know that you’re in the know. It has the same positive effect of gossiping, but
without the downsides: you are either not detracting value from colleagues, or you are
complimenting them.

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Also see this forum entry:

– How to ask for gossip

6. Becoming The Battering Ram

Who is the battering ram?

The battering ram is the person in a group of complainers and conspirators

who leads the assault.

When you have an issue with someone or something at work, people will usually start
complaining. But it will take a long time before anyone does something about it.
Well, the battering ram is the person who acts.

It’s the person who stands up at the meeting and tells the boss everyone is tired of his
attitude.
It’s the guy who walks into the CEO’s office to complain.
And it’s the woman who takes the first step in filing a sexual assault complaint against the
boss who jokes a little bit too much.

It takes courage to make the first step and, from a power perspective, it might be the first
step that makes you the leader of a big change.

But these situations carry big risks, too.

The risk when everyone complains but nobody wants to take action is that they might be
hiding behind you.
And after you have made your move public, you might turn around only to realize too late
that there is walking the talk and backing you up. That happens relatively often if your
first move is not highly successful.
And if that’s the case, you’re (politically) screwed.

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There is some overlap between “leader” and “battering ram”. But while the leader has
actual power, the battering ram takes far more risks to become one, with far
more uncertain rewards.

Being the battering ram is a very high risk, for high rewards. Such as, on average, the risks
outstrip the rewards.

Battering Ram Set-Up

The battering ram might also be a political set-up.

People pretend to be angry and to be ready to stand behind you.

But then, as soon as you make the first step, they will even deny they ever agreed with
you.

And then you’re out.

If you’re not sure, it’s best that you organize a small group of people to take action
together with you. Like walking all together to your boss’ boss office, or all going to HR at
the same time.

7. Objecting Organizational Changes

Standing against change is one of the most common political mistakes.

Think of it this way: why does change happen?

Changes to organizational structure, priorities or projects don’t happen randomly. And

they don’t happen because John the security guard wanted to.

Change happens because someone at the very top wants to change. And opposing
change is like opposing the movers and shaker of your company.

When you refuse the change, reject it and complain about it, you are basically giving a big
middle finger to some of the most powerful individuals in your organization.

At best, you get a reputation of a complainer. At worst, the top brass will recognize your
resistance and you will become the internal enemy.

Here are the approaches you can take in regard to change:

1. Embrace the new way, make a show of it for upper management, and thrive in it
2. Leave for greener pastures
3. Become a complainer

Guess which one suits you best?

As legendary General Electric CEO Jack Welch says in his book “Winning“, the
executives who promoted the change love to see people embracing it and
championing.

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For them, it’s like receiving a compliment with your actions -much more powerful than
your words- and they will see an ally in you.

8. The King is Dead, Long Live The King

Another common political mistake is to maintain allegiance with the old -and gone-
management.

Remember, when a new boss enters the scene, it’s a clean slate for you.

That might not be cool if you were very close to your old boss, or if you had a promotion
lined up.
But that’s how it is.
What you can try to do is to have your old boss talk to the new one or, even better, have
your old boss to talk to his boss and let the new boss now that you’re a good guy in pole
position for a promotion or salary increase.

On the other hand, a new boss or new management are a great opportunity.

People will be scared, afraid of their jobs, looking around, clinging to the past… And you
instead will be running towards the novelty with your arms open.

Finally, once the new boss enters, don’t talk about “how it was before”. That never fails to
piss off the new one.
The old boss can’t do anything anymore except of saying: talk to the new one.

Watch Video At: https://youtu.be/JHtmobwu9Rg

You can rest assured the subordinates talking to the old boss annoyed the new boss,
Michael Corleone

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9. Taking Corporate-Speak At Face Value
You heard these:

– Employees are our biggest asset

– We put customers first
– Our aim is to change the world for the better

Some, especially the younger and more naive, truly believe the official company line.

And while there is some truth in them, they are far from the whole truth.

The truth is his: most people will always put themselves and their needs above
those of the company.
And the other way is even truer.

The company, which represents the interests of the owners, the shareholders, and the C-
suite, will always its interest above those of the employees.
Sometimes those interests overlap, and everything seems jolly.

But don’t get lulled into a false sense of fraternity.

When the interests will start diverging… You will realize.

To the company, employees matter… Until they don’t matter anymore at the drop of a hat.
As Dan Rust says in “Workplace Poker”: it’s your output that matters, not you as a
human being.

It’s not mean.

Cold, yes, but not mean.
You can have stronger bonds and relationships with your colleagues. Just not with your
employer.
With your employer, it’s more likely to be a pure self-interest based exchange.
You can also enjoy and warm up to your employer, and I even recommend that. But still,
don’t forget the true exchange-based deal. You must seek to get the most out of it. Because
they’re trying to get the most out of you.

10. Staying a cynic when ideals make way to reality

Some of the most idealists, moralists, or naive individuals feel betrayed when they realize
corporate hypocrisy.

Most corporations are schizophrenic as they publicly profess certain values while actually
rewarding different ones.

And those who believed the public ones feel cheated.

Some turn bitter, and start calling out all inconsistencies they see.
They take pride in “calling a spade a spade”, and with that behavior, they soon become the
problem.

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Most people recover eventually, but some others stay stuck in bitterness for longer.
Some of them, including obsessive-compulsive individuals, have difficulty in accepting the
natural grey area that exists between professed values, the law and the reality of things.

But the sooner you move out of bitterness, the quicker you can start thriving.

Make peace with the fact that the values are just a front, that the law matters
only when you can prove it, and that what people say and do is a very
different thing.
Once you overcome bitterness and accept the grey areas and contradiction of human
nature, then you can also welcome back love and idealism within you -and you probably
should-. A different kind of love and idealism, though: an idealism that is based on reality.

11. Flirting (or Complaining) With Assistants

Might not be a jail bait, but unless you’re her boss, she’s a pink-slip bait

Maybe you’d like to make a move on those personal assistants (PAs).

But that could easily be a political mistake. Bosses often develop a protective attitude
towards their assistants.
They can become their mentors, protectors, or sexual partners.

Here is the funny thing: even when bosses are not sexual partners of their PA,
they still get jealous and protective (yeah, many guys are dumb).

One because they might still want people to believe that they are having sex with their
assistants -or at least leave people in doubt-.
And second, because many male executives consider men hitting on their secretaries a
personal slight.

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So, what to do?
Either don’t make a move on the PA.
Or make what you should always do: make a move on the low, do your thing quietly. Let
the big ego do the show-off of public flirting. You be the silent killer, instead.

The same applies to any female employees the bosses appear to be fond of.

Better yet: don’t flirt too much at work

People who flirt too much get a reputation for being unprofessional.
The good flirting at work is either 1:1, or is unstated. A lingering eye contact, a slight
smile. But avoid anything over the top, or you will get a bad reputation that will keep you
from true career advancement.

Don’t Complain to PAs

Many secretaries have their allegiances with their bosses, not with the company or teams.

Complaining to them can go straight to their powerful bosses’ ears.

Of course, some PAs might not like their bosses.

But they might still turn your private complaints to the big boss just to win some political
brownie points.

12. Forming Out-Groups With Management

People who never advance group together and look at upper management like they are a
different breed.
The most boneheaded ones even turn them into enemies in their minds.

If you want to be management material, you must feel to them like you’re an ingroup.

The most politically clueless individuals instead stay stuck in lower-level roles because
they form outgroups.

Here is one example:

I remember sitting in a big room as a consultant on a lean project.

A first-level manager bumped into an airplane model on the way to the meeting table and
a high-level made a joke on what it would cost to fix that airplane.
A brief discussion of the actual costs of the model ensued, and this was the dialogue:

Random guy: actually they’re very expensive, I remember it was around 3.000 each
High-Level Manager: wow, that’s more than my weekly salary
First-Level Manager: I definitely need to be careful then, I’m not one of you big paycheck
guys.

The first manager laughed as he thought he had done a cool joke.

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But the “joke” was politically idiotic in countless ways.

First, it sounded slightly derogatory towards upper management, as if they were making
too much money.
Equally important, these types of jokes stress the differences between you and the
powerful people. They communicate there is a group of higher-earner, “you”, and there is
me here. And we are worlds apart.

To Join Upper Management, Look Like Upper-Management

Remember, you will only get promoted into upper management if you already look and
sound like one.

You must look like you belong into the club if you wanna enter the club.

The best way to become upper management is for upper management to feel
like you are already one of them.
Then they will want to officialize your position with the title.

Downplay the differences and show the similarities. Show the ways you are like them, how
you understand them and you will soon become a heavy hitter yourself.

13. Over-Enthusiasm for Your Visions & Ideas Before Having

Power
If you’re the owner or CEO, think big and you’ll be praised for it.
Think strange and you’re a visionary.

But if you’re still working your way up you’re better off being a cheerleader of
management’s vision rather than over-promoting your own ideas.

Yes, being passionate is good.

But being overly passionate for an idea or strategy that doesn’t seem to catch on is
counterproductive. Worst of all is if you keep promoting it after it’s already received
lukewarm feedback.

At best, your visions running against management’s vision will signal that you don’t really
understand what business is all about.
At worst, you will brand like a problematic employee who doesn’t like the company’s
vision and doesn’t fit the culture.

Don’t get me wrong: do not throw away your vision and ideas. As a matter of fact,
cultivate them and improve on them with a healthy dose of realism.
Then let them blossom… Once you’re up there.

But while you get there, focus on bringing business, cutting costs and looking and talking
like upper management (and let the differences manifest later).

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14. Putting All Eggs in The Boss’ Basket
We said you need to coddle your boss and build a great relationship, right?

Right.
However, you don’t want that to be your only source of power.
If you don’t also deliver, bosses might eventually realize that you are piggybacking on
them and abusing the relationship.

As Robert Greene says, the “favorite” position can be dangerous. It’s likely to stir envy
among your colleagues and isolate you (Greene, 2018).

And it’s all too easy-going from “too close” to “disliked”.

As with romantic relationships, smaller gestures carry more weight when we are close.
And with a boss there is no sex, cuddling, and intimacy to make up for those hurt feelings.

Especially with touchy and finicky bosses, build great relationships while you also deliver
good work, promote yourself outside the team, and expand your other sources of power.

15. Competing With More Powerful Opponents

In the lesson for women, we said that women need to learn to compete more.

There is an important caveat, though: competition must be circumscribed to those

around your own level.

Says career coach Kathleen Reardon:

When you go to the mat you better be the one with the decision power to carry through.

When you’re down in power instead, you’re better off with political savvy, negotiation,
and persuasion. Says again Reardon:

Unless you’re running the show, you need to find a way to get your thoughts across in a
manner palatable to those around you.

You should also keep the same in mind when you need to learn from others.
This is a mistake a junior employee once did with me.
She was hired as a junior sales and wanted to learn the trick of the trade from me. But
instead of playing it friendly and warm, she started to compete. Let’s say that the only
thing she learned with that attitude was that it wasn’t a good attitude for her
development.

15. Providing Negative Feedback to Those Above You

Positive feedback makes you friends.

Negative ones can make you enemies.

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As you progress in your career, it might eventually happen that someone asks you for an
informal review of someone’s work.
If you make good use of the self-promotion lesson, it might also happen that it’s a high-
caliber player asking you to review someone who’s actually senior to you.

That’s what happened to me when the head of internal management consultants asked me
for a feedback on Julien, one of the guys on his team.
The acute observer of people I thought I was, I gave detailed feedback on how sometimes
Julien rubbed people the wrong with a badly concealed haughty attitude.
When I saw Julien again it took me one second to realize from his face that he knew
something he shouldn’t have known.
I said hello to him, and he didn’t reply. And that’s when I knew 100% I had made an
enemy I didn’t need to make.

Theoretically, your feedback should be anonymous.

But it will not always be. Hopefully, the receiver is honest enough not to share your name.
But it might slip out of him, or some details might surface and the subject of your review
might be able to put two and two together.
Yes, reviewing someone is a chance for self-promotion. But it’s also a
politically delicate situation.

My advice is to be honest, to also use the occasion to showcase your emotional and social
intelligence, but to be very careful with negative feedback.
In case you need to provide harsher reviews, consider delivering them verbally. Once you
send an email, you also lose control over it, and you never know where your email might
end up.

How do you give negative feedback, then?

Check out this forum entry:

– How to provide feedback for improvement

16. Accepting Turnaround Missions, Far From Head-Office

Turnaround projects are make or breaks.

They’re risky, but it can be a worthy risk.

Especially if it’s a big division and/or if the CEO really cares about them.

However, if the above two don’t apply and if you’re going to run a division far from head
office, that’s a double risk.
Far from head office you will lose connections and access to information.

And people will lose access to you, and you know how it goes: “out of sight, out of mind”.

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You become “that guy down there” who’s on a mission impossible, trying to save some
money from a money-losing operation.
And if the turnaround doesn’t work quick enough, then it’s a short step to let you go
together with the whole department.

Questions? Open A Topic & Ask Here!

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