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Play Power Games Not Office Politics

Too competent for a promotion

If you’re adept at managing up, making your boss look good, then chances are you are a valuable asset to the team, company, and to your boss.

But what happens when you want a promotion?

Sometimes it’s hard to get promoted because you are just too competent at your role. You are more valuable where you are to those around you, and some may want to stymie your progress, because that’s good for them. No one wants to lose a superstar.

So what to do? Here’s how to play power games without playing power politics.

First, if you find yourself banging your head against the wall, and getting knocked back from roles that are ideal for you and your career progress, dive deep into the why.

Step 1. Check your assumptions first:

Get qualified, useful feedback. Are you really as competent as you think you are? If not, work on filling those skills gaps and gaining valuable experience.

Check the competition. If you are as competent as you think you are, then check the field of applicants. Did you miss out because someone else was better? If yes, then learn where they are superior to you and get to work honing your talents and abilities.

Check there was no unconscious or conscious bias in the selection process. Did you miss out because of your attributes? Or did someone else get the role because of their attributes? Or was it really a merit-based process? 

The answers to these questions can lead to complex solutions including changing selection processes to eliminate bias. 

However, if your case is still not affected by bias, then it may be you are being held back by your superiors because you are just too good where you are.

What the? I hear you saying.

It’s possible that your boss may have worked behind the scenes to keep you in place because you are far too effective and they don’t want to lose your superstardom.

That, or you’re a threat to them.

Either way, you now find yourself in POWER GAMES.

Step 2. Play power games without playing office politics.

If it was me, I’d be fuming. 

I mean, the boss is supposed to have your back, right?

But sadly, some bosses are not as competent, ethical, or altruistic as you might hope.

Playing power games is all about building your personal power and influence,
without turning to office politics (undermining others) to get what you want.



Here’s what might be in your way first up:

A mistaken belief that if you are just good enough and do your work, others will notice you and they will look after you.

See the point above about ‘not all bosses being  competent, ethical, or altruistic as you might hope.’

You’ve got to run your own personal branding and influence campaign. 

For many, especially Australians, this may make you cringe a little. No one wants to be a show pony. 

This is less about being braggart, and more about being VISIBLE and USEFUL.

Strategy 1 - Get visible

So, get VISIBLE. Make insightful comments on the company blog. Make suggestions. Praise and encourage others. Volunteer to be on that staff party planning committee. Ask others, ‘how can I help move the dial for the company/team’?

Strategy 2 - Be useful

Be USEFUL. Know what’s coming up around the traps and offer to help out. Even bringing cups of coffee to your hard working colleagues who are working overtime to meet a deadline is being useful.

Strategy 3 - Build your network

Build your network inside and outside of the organisation. When you have allies, you are less likely to fall prey to an overt power play by your boss. It’s too risky for them when you have others in the organisation who know and see your value. 

Having a strong network also gives you options. This helps even out the balance of power between you and the boss who would keep you their own secret weapon. They may actually try to work harder to keep you, giving you more benefits and opportunities to keep you close by. 

See it for what it is, a power game, and make sure you are making choices that serve you, your purpose, and maintain your personal integrity.

Live with grace, lead in service. 

 
 
 

P.S. My latest leadership-book-in-disguise-as-a-novel, Olympus Bound, the second book in the Gaia Enterprise series, is out now! Get your copy here from the author or the ebook from Amazon.

About Zoë Routh, Canberra leadership futurist

Zoë Routh is a leadership futurist, podcaster, and multiple award-winning author. She works with leaders and teams to explore what's coming and what it means for leadership of the future.

She has worked with individuals and teams internationally and in Australia since 1987. From wild Canadian rivers to the Australian Outback, and the Boardroom jungles, Zoë is an adventurist! She facilitates strategy and culture for the future with audacious teams.

Zoë's fourth leadership book, People Stuff - Beyond Personality Problems: An advanced handbook for leadership, won the Book of the Year at the Australian Business Book Awards in 2020. Her fifth book is a leadership futurist science fiction dystopian novel, The Olympus Project.

Zoë is the producer of the Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast, dedicated to asking “What if…?”  and sharing big ideas on the Future of Leadership.

Zoë is an outdoor adventurist and enjoys telemark skiing, has run 6 marathons, is a one-time belly-dancer, has survived cancer, and loves hiking in the high country. She is married to a gorgeous Aussie and is a self-confessed dark chocolate addict.