Political Savy in Ethical Way Essay Example

shares her own view about people who rise quickly in the Organization ladder. "It's what you know, whom you know and who knows you. " (Joan Lloyd, 2001). Leaders who are functionally strong and highly productive, but, do not know how to build and map connections, communicate the right thing at the right time, show their existence and know to materialize on the leads can be eventually overtaken in this competitive corporate world.

This makes political competence an essential skill for corporate survival and success. Political Game in an Ethical Way Politics can be categorized into good or bad depending on the way the Players use it in an Organization. Based on the approach, political activity can lead to damaging and negative or constructive and positive results. Bad political behavior has even ruined careers of some unfortunate colleagues. Jeffrey Pinto (2000), characterizes political behaviors as Naive – people who believe it is morally disreputable and prefer to avoid any political activity.

On the other hand, there are personalities who are highly ambitious and apply politics in an improper way, focusing merely towards their convenience and benefits. This category of players are destructive, self-centered and worry only about their career advancement, even if that means by harming others if they get in their way. Jeffrey Pinto references the above vicious type of political characters by the term ‘Sharks’ developed by Lynch and Kordis (1988). Both Naive and Shark characters are equally misguided and ineffective. Practicing the middle ground of political sensibility is the most effective and appropriate political tactic.

Sensible people understand that politics are inevitable when initiating any changes in organization. They know change makes employees nervous and

insecure. Politically Sensible leaders are aware of these concerns and offer mutually agreeable solutions by making alliances, networking, negotiating and compromising where need be. Organizational Politics is most effective when applied for negotiation and bargaining. A good leader should strive to develop and employ in Ethical Politics that will have a positive impact to self and the Organization as a whole. (Pinto, J. K. 2000) How to Mitigate Negative Politics According to De Janasz, S. C. , & Dowd, K. O. , Schneider, B. Z. (2002), Organizational Negative Politics can be anticipated to arise during situations such as ambiguity in roles, authority and responsibilities. Also, lack of communication, exclusion of the concerned people in key decision-making, unclear rewarding procedures and insufficient resources can be causes for concern. These can be thoughtfully controlled using the following suggestions. Clarity in task assigned: Staff should have their roles and responsibilities clearly defined.

They should be informed of their powers and limitations as well. Effective communication and consent: It is important to have an open two-way communication and getting consensus from employees when making major decisions or before resource allocation. This will avoid confusion and the possibility for disagreement later on. Structured reward procedure: A clearly communicated and well-structured rewards/promotion procedure will allow employees to focus on business objects rather than worrying about possible salary discrimination. Such unbiased compensation schemes will boost employee morale.

Sufficient resources: Resources are always difficult to manage, however, managers should try to allocate enough resources for their staff to do their job. Planning and anticipating resource requirements in advance helps to make necessary arrangements. Formal structure: While less established companies with informal work structure go by

personal contact and emotional appeal, formal structure uses quantitative reasoning and performance-based data for its use in politics. This is less likely to lead to false assumptions and trigger a negative impact in Organization. (De Janasz, et al. 2002). I was avoiding of corporate politics, believing that it was morally incorrect. However, after evaluating my past organizational successes and failures, I was able to map the reasons for both scenarios. I was involved in some level of political behavior without my knowledge. I now understand that Organizational politics is inevitable and a required skill to sustain and achieve higher success in corporate world. It is interesting to learn that organizational politics can also be practiced in an ethical way. How to Focus Under Extreme Physical and Mental Stress

I picked this as my second topic of discussion based on recent learnings from the classes conducted during residency. The class was quite tired towards the end of the four-day session. Professor Jack Ricchiuto made us perform some yoga breathing and stretching exercises before he started his last lecture. It was a simple and effective technique that helped in instant relaxation of mind and enabled me to focus on his lecture. I was further curious to learn about how to perform under extreme stress. It was interesting to uncover simple steps to deal with such situations.

Staying focused under extreme physical and mental stress is crucial in leading positions. This may be, for example, a big day for your new product release and presentation, a major conference that you prepared for weeks, or an annual global client-vendor meeting that you have been working hard for days and nights. The

ability to sustain, stay focused and perform under mental and physical stress during significant events becomes critical for all that hard work done earlier. Otherwise, the opportunity is lost if we are incapable of pushing that extra bit of energy needed by being nervous or distracted.

I read an article entitled ‘How to think on your feet Staying Cool Under Pressure’ posted by www. mindtools. com, which quotes “…articulating your thoughts in unanticipated situations is a skill. Thinking on your feet is highly coveted skill and when you master it, your clever and astute responses will instill immediate confidence in what you are saying. ” The article points that confidence is key when learning to stay cool under pressure. They advise to gather your thoughts on the subject, where, the confidence in the subject knowledge will help us to remain calm.

Some instant techniques to follow in such situations are: Relax: Although you may feel the opposite way, it necessary to stay relaxed as much as possible so as to speak with clarity and for the brain to think properly. Taking deep breaths, pausing to affirm a positive message to yourself and tightening unnoticeable muscles for few seconds and releasing, will help to relax quickly. Once you are able to relax and the brain has calmed down and is not preoccupied, it allows to focus better. Listen: Not understanding the question properly will end up in commenting inappropriate, irrelevant or wrong answers.

To help listening under stressed situations, look directly into the person interacting with you; observe body language for better understanding in addition to what is spoken. Try to interpret whether the question is suggesting, requesting to

learn more or testing. Knowing the intention will help phrase a correct answer to the question. Use Stall Tactics: It is always easy to calm down so quickly as suggested above. Taking time is better than to blurt out something that makes you look anxious and insecure.

Repeating the question yourself will help in bargaining time to compose your mind and phrase an answer. Narrow the scope, if the question is broad. This will help focus into specifics to draft an answer and to enable better understanding of the concerned situation. Ask clarification and definitions to ensure thorough understanding as this will allow more time to calm the brain. Use Silence to Your Advantage: Keeping “mum” is not always dumb. Indeed, if used appropriately it is a wise thing to do and will communicate your maturity of thoughtful speaking.

Pausing to collect your thoughts conveys to your brain to slow down everything that would otherwise be rushed out as unclear words. Focus on One Point of Discussion: A short or incomplete response will lead questions for further debrief. At the same time, talking too much and being scattered with your response will distract the listener who will lose interest and confidence in your response. It is better to acknowledge when we do not know the answer, but, follow up soon after you conduct further research. Predict Questions: Be prepared with anticipated questions before a discussion.

Practice and rehearse the possible questions and chart out good answers in advance. Practice Clear Delivery: Clarity in delivery is very important to convey your thoughts. If you mumble or use too much of “umm”, “ah” it reflects that you are uncertain or

lack confidence in your responses. Some key orating skills to consider for practicing is to speak with a strong but not loud voice, use appropriate level of formality in language and grammar, use pauses to emphasize a point or to slow down, make eye contact appropriately and to modulate your tone. power of tone, Richiutto, J. , 2011) Summarize and Stop: It is good to summarize using terms such as, “in conclusion,” “finally” and then end your talk. Resist adding more comments after the completion of the conversation. People tend to process the information that you just conveyed and speaking over and over will result in confusion. (www. MindTools. com) References: Bacharach, Samuel B. (October 23, 2008). “Political Competence: Political Leadership Skills for Execution”. In The Bacharach Blog. Retrieved August 30, 2011, from http://sambacharach. om/bacharachblog/leader/political-competence-political-leadership-skills-for-execution/ De Janasz, S. C. , & Dowd, K. O. , Schneider, B. Z. (2002). “Interpersonal Skills in Organizations. ” New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from http://www. tafpi. com/static/files/lwpa_executive_summary. pdf Lloyd, Joan. (July 22, 2001). “Building political savvy, in a good way. ” In The Business Journal Service Greater Milwaukee. Retrieved August 30, 2011, from http://www. bizjournals. com/milwaukee/stories/2001/07/23/smallb2. html Lynch