Perhaps you’ve been recognized as a top performer. You think you are well on your way to getting a promotion. There’s a new opportunity to move up. It would mean more compensation and more responsibility, and you’re ready for it. You apply for the position. You know you are qualified, maybe even overqualified, and you’re confident that the job will be yours.
Then the bottom falls out. Someone else is chosen over you and that person isn’t nearly as qualified as you are! You’re angry and frustrated. You feel betrayed. You didn’t see it coming.
What happened?
What did you do wrong?
You work hard. You always get great results. You’re an over-achiever who takes on special projects, works long hours.
Your mistake: You’re playing the wrong game.
While you have your head down, focusing on your work, others are using their political savvy to build influence and political capital.
They have the relationships. They have inside information about what’s happening and what the future holds.
They pay attention to what’s going on.
In other words, they are politically savvy.
What is political savvy?
In the workplace, the rules of the game are not simple. Although hard work and performance are important, they are not the sole basis for advancement. Often promotions are based on relationships, personality, on the ability to engage in the organization’s politics, promote oneself with intention, and to network and build influence.
Every organization has unique dynamics. There is an array of metrics for performance management, different language used, and personalities that must work together to complete projects. One common denominator in all of this? Politics within the organization. And the reality is that to successfully navigate all the variables to get ahead and stay ahead of office politics, you must be adaptable.
Political savvy is understanding the culture, whatever it is, and then learning how to best, position yourself, given that reality.
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