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1-2 McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Power and Politicking Your ability to understand and use power and politics can give you an important edge in the current business environment. Chapter 15

15-3 Chapter Objectives Acquire and use power to get others to do what you want them to do even when your position lacks such authority. Use your connections to successfully champion a cause within an organization. Identify people to go to if you want to get something done in an organization. Interpret others’ impressions as well as the organization’s culture. Learn how to create and manage a positive impression of yourself. Consider the negative or unethical implications of your actions.

15-4 What is Power? Sources of Power Legitimate – based on a person holding a formal position or title. Reward – based on a person’s ability to control rewards. Coercive – based on a person’s ability to punish or harm. Expert – based on a person possessing knowledge or superior skills in an area of expertise. Referent – based on a person’s ability to influence because of others’ desire to identify or associate with him or her. Power is the ability to get someone to do something you want done or the ability to make things happen in the way that you want them to.

15-5 Person or Informal Power Expert –Based on a person possessing knowledge or superior skills in an area of expertise. –Employees comply because they respect and trust their knowledge or skill. Referent –Based on a person’s ability to influence because others’ desire to identify or associate with him or her. –Others comply because they like, believe in, or want to emulate the person and what they represent.

15-6 Tips for Increasing Power Develop your people skills. Improve your relationship with and gain confidence from your manager and peers. User personal appeals and sincere flattery to make a connection with and befriend others. Take advantage of any training or educational opportunities provided by your organization. Attend trade and professional association meetings. Let others know about your expertise.

15-7 What is Politicking and Why is it Important? Politicking is the use of power and information to move resources toward preferred objectives. Politicking is advocating for your interests in a way that meets your and your company’s objectives. Politicking is important because of the complexities involved in being in business today. Politicking is a way to strengthen and expand your existing network of contacts within your organization.

15-8 Engaging in Politics: Considerations Effective politicking requires forethought before being put into action. Locus of control is related to a person’s belief regarding how much control they have over external events or the external environment. Entrepreneurs tend to have a strong internal locus of control and believe they have the power to succeed in their own ventures.

15-9 Analyzing Yourself Politicking begins with a clear understanding of yourself and the politicking qualities you possess naturally. Having an honest assessment of your goals, and your capability for achieving them, helps in utilizing your positive aspects while diminishing or controlling your negative factors. To increase the effectiveness of your politicking, try to understand the power base from which you are working and determine the power base that would best match the specific situation or person with whom you are interacting.

15-10 Reading Others Listen intently Observe aggressively Turn up your sensitivity Analyze first impressions

15-11 Assessing the Organization Observe and listen –Pay close attention to the organizational norms. –Know what type of behavior is acceptable and what is frowned upon by individuals and by the organization. –Pay attention to successful and unsuccessful practices and actions. Evaluate the organization –Know the formal roles individuals play in the organization as well as the informal roles.

15-12 Choosing Wisely If you wield your power for each and every cause, others may eventually reduce the attention they pay to subsequent causes. Conserve your “political capital” for important actions or causes. Consider the most appropriate time to wield power.

15-13 Politicking Strategies Assertiveness Upward appeals Exchange or bargaining Reciprocation Coalition building Ingratiation Rationality Inspirational appeals Consultation

15-14 Managing Impressions The perceptions others hold of you is an important element in politicking. Use impression management to increase positive perceptions of you. We form impressions of others based on factors such as their dress, speech, handshake, phone manner, writing style, prior reputation, and behavior and mannerisms. Impression management is a process by which we attempt to influence the reactions and images people have of us and our ideas.

15-15 Managing Others’ Impressions of You Be punctual Dress appropriately Flatter legitimately Have a good sense of humor Be friendly and approachable Make friends

15-16 Managing Information Managers who are effective at politicking: –Stay well informed about the organization and the industry. –Use information they gather to help them make better business decisions. –Understand the importance of information and how to access, sift through, store, and use information to their advantage. Being able to effectively organize current and emerging information that relates to your work is important in many professions.

15-17 Tips for Managing Information Set up a simple, user-friendly file system. –Include both specific project folders as well as general “resource” folders. –Cleanse these folders on a regular basis. –File folders from past projects in a separate location. Evaluate all information that comes to you. –Quickly make “importance” decisions. –Decide who else should see this information. –Discard items that are not relevant or can be obtained later. –Print out sensitive s and remove them from your inbox.

15-18 Tips for Managing Information (continued) Refer to your project and related resource files prior to attending a meeting about the topic. Keep written notes on all meetings attended. Keep a telephone log. Manage your . Keep running “to do” and “tickler” lists.

15-19 Ethical Issues in Politicking Before taking action, ask yourself whether the action you’re considering might cause an imbalance in your or someone else’s area of the organization. Consider whether you are achieving your objectives at the expense of someone else’s objectives. Ethical issues in politicking are brought to the forefront when dealing with Machiavellian personalities. “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

15-20 Is Your Politicking Ethical? Why am I considering doing this? Who will be benefit by this action? Am I doing this for my own exclusive benefit? Who (if anyone) might be harmed? –How can I adjust my strategy to ensure others’ needs will be taken into account? –What alliances can I form that will make this action more likely to meet my own as well as others’ needs? Is this request in the best interest of my colleagues and organization? Are the tactics I’ll use and the outcomes that will result fair and equitable? Would the tactics I use and words I convey be acceptable if known publicly?

15-21 Keeping Organizational Politics in Check Reduce task ambiguity Increase communication channels Ensure a clear and consistent reward and promotion structure Provide sufficient resources Formalize the structure

15-22 Summary Your ability to understand and use power and politics can give you an important edge in the current business environment. You only have one chance to make a first impression. Successful politicking requires effective information management. As a manager, it is your role to create an environment that supports a healthy level of politicking, one that helps others understand the power and appropriate use of politicking within the organization.