Heart-less Point-less Politics

Productive energy gone wasted. Steve Roesler over at All Things Workplace posted an interesting comment on Silos and Office Politics. His observations nailed a set of dynamics that are as old as organizations themselves simply because organizations are a mirror of the collective beliefs of the individual employees. It would be easy to blame employees for office politics, using information to elevate status, position or authority but would miss the mark completely.

Where ever office politics run rampant, somewhere, somehow the working culture endorses using productive energy in totally unproductive ways. IF the same company SAYS they want progressive, visionary, creative, innovative thinking, then holding up the mirror to how they are endorsing beliefs that won't, don't and can't get them there is a really good idea.

People get nervous when I use the word energy to describe how productivity flows. It is associated with touchy-feely stuff somehow. But energy is what gets you up in the morning; heart inspired work is what powers creativity and innovation and thought has energy. People don't blink or think about it when they pick up the phone and call someone and can have a conversation. Science has proven that thoughts have energy and then keeps proving it. IF the entire company is focused around getting ahead means winning the one up manship game against another part of the company that is part of the whole - it will have an impact on the whole customer experience, the totality of the product quality, the quality of products and services produced. In the end, the component parts have forgotten why they exist.

The simple signal for a company heavily engaged in office politics is to ask how that preoccupation is driving the results they seek. It is deadly for relationships, deadly for team work, deadly for anything that has to do with performance. Is the mindset wide enough to see the big picture and its component parts at the top level and if not why not? Your thoughts? 

Comments

[steveroesler]

Hi, Dawna,

Thanks for the kind words and reference to the series.

I confess to having developed a big smile when you referenced the use of the word "energy" and it's touchy-feeling connotation. But energy is exactly what "engagement" and business results are all about. Anything that proves draining stands in the way of performance.

The real challenge comes when asking your poignant question about "can you see it?" Most often, the people to whom we pose that question are the people who are perpetuating the dynamic.

It's a tough one.

Keep writing...

[steveroesler]

Hi, Dawna,

Thanks for the kind words and reference to the series.

I confess to having developed a big smile when you referenced the use of the word "energy" and it's touchy-feeling connotation. But energy is exactly what "engagement" and business results are all about. Anything that proves draining stands in the way of performance.

The real challenge comes when asking your poignant question about "can you see it?" Most often, the people to whom we pose that question are the people who are perpetuating the dynamic.

It's a tough one.

Keep writing...