Have you ever wondered what makes people act the way they do in the office? Why are some people always mean? Or, why is your boss trying to get you to do something you don’t want to do? Or, why do people seem to forget the commitments they made to you in the past?

Well today I want to introduce you to a concept that is meant to ease your mind when dealing with difficult office politics:

They don’t have to be wrong for you to be right

How often are you annoyed at your job and you feel compelled to place the blame on a coworker or a boss or a client? You feel that it was a personal attack or that there might be some personal reasons behind it and, in some way, they are trying to bring your career down.

Well you are right, there are always more personal reasons behind it. And those personal reasons are all about the other person and not about you.

People almost always feel completely justified in what they did, how they reacted, and how they might have handled a situation. It is going to be very rare that a person at your job comes and apologizes to you!

Even if they should, it is highly unlikely to happen so instead I want you to focus on what you can do to deal with it.

 

Your only competition is yourself

Always remember the priority is you. You are navigating your own career and success and you should always place the energy into what will help you grow not what will bring you down.

In actuality, it doesn’t matter what another person does to you nearly as much as what you choose to do with the situation: should you report them, should you address it, should you get a new job, etc…

If someone in the office seems to be hellbent on making your day worse, you are most likely placing a lot of time and energy into thinking about it. You are probably drained at night and can barely get yourself to work in the morning because you are so burned out from the situation.

Make a conscious choice to act on it in a deliberate way that is meant to give you less stress and put energy back into your career.

Sometimes this will be talking to someone you trust, such as a mentor. Other times this will be going to HR about it. And other times it will mean it is time for you to start your job search.

In all cases, there are ways in which you can manage office politics to reduce the overall stress it takes on you and your days.

That is why I live by the principle that you and I can both be right at the exact same time.

 

You can both be right at the exact same time

Allow me to tell you a personal story:

A previous job I had originally asked me for a 20% travel commitment when I first started. My first year that quickly turned to 50% and even 100% for months at a time. Then the second year it turned into 100% and stayed there.

I had only taken that job because of the lower travel commitment so once that was gone, I had no real reason to stay there versus go to any other consultant job in the entire world. However, I also understood that the business I was working with had grown and they needed a certain number of consultants to travel 100% of the time, they wanted me to be one of those people because I was good at my job (excellent!) and I seemed to have the “flexibility” (i.e no kids) to do it.

But I wasn’t willing to and never had been nor did I ever say I was willing to.

This is a perfect case of both of us can be right!

The company is right to try to use their team to fulfill their needs, including travel, and I am right in saying I will not be one of those people.

 

Dealing With Office Politics

By putting yourself first, I want you to focus on bringing energy back into your day and excitement back into your career to pursue the life and ambitions that you want for your own self.

💛As always, I am here to help you in any way I can via email, a phone call or a comment below.