Do you remember being part of the "in" crowd? Or excluded from the "in" crowd? Are you a socialite? Are you comfortable being the centre of attention? Or do you find yourself alone in a crowd and exist on the perimeter of most social gatherings?

Games are repetitive; they appear socially acceptable, they serve the function of keeping us insulated from our emotions, and they offer an avoidance of true intimacy and authenticity. They therefore reduce the level of personal risk in relationships.

How do these roles transform themselves into politics in the corporate world?

Person A (persecutor) is house friends with the boss and takes every opportunity to put down Person B. Person B (inadvertent victim) comes to hear of this and confronts the boss. The boss (rescuer) responds in a manner which is protective of Person A.  As such the status quo is maintained and the real, uncomfortable issues are avoided.

Filtering as politics may be illustrated by the following example. You (victim) report to a senior whom you rely on to convey the level of your performance to senior people in the company. Over time you find out, that not only has your level of performance not been acknowledged, but your senior (persecutor) has taken the credit for your contribution. You ask for a meeting with your senior and his manager. In the meeting you become aware that you are being played. Your manager and his colleague are colluding. They are simply going through the paces with you. As such the senior manager has rescued the situation and is maintaining an unhealthy status quo.

Politics for worse often occur where the individual agenda takes precedence over the team or company agenda. The individual self-promotes at the expense of others. A situation where this may occur is where a number of people are vying for a promotion.

Divide and rule is a favorite political tactic. A manager controls team members by seeing them individually. When in interaction he/she alludes indirectly to absent colleagues in a manner which leaves a question around trust. Each person has then been set up to relate to the boss in preference to each other.

Generally speaking, men socialize at work more than women do. Drinks after work and time on the golf course are prime examples. It is in these informal settings that many decisions are made. Women are often heard to say, that they feel that the decisions have been made prior to the meetings being called.

The definition of politics at work needs to be broadened, particularly in view of the drive towards feminine leadership which emphasizes relationship skills.

Should a skilled female leader, comfortable with her femininity, decide that over time she wishes to change the culture of the workplace for better, she would have to acknowledge the existence of the current politics, analyze and understand the games being played, and then take appropriate action in respect of them.

Let us presume that she would over time attempt to improve the culture so that it will become more respectful to the people working there. Surprise! Surprise! She will find herself having to apply the rules of politics in pursuit of the goals she has set herself.

In summary, politics are a reality. In essence you as an individual need to determine to which extent you are prepared to play the game, in order to survive, maintain the status quo, or thrive!

Dr Renate Volpe, CEO of HIRS, is a recognized expert and coach in the arena of people development, leadership and change management. She represents a unique combination of academic ability (PHD in leadership) and success as a corporate player, with 30 years of business experience (first as an employee and then as a business owner, holding retainers up to the present day with blue chip companies such as Anglo American for over 20 years), as well as being a resilient, innovative entrepreneur, author, coach and owner of numerous successful companies.

Dr Renate Volpe facilitates a 1-day workshop entitled "Improve Your Corporate Political Intelligence (PQ)" which is open to the public and is also available to conduct in-house workshops for a minimum of 15 people. She can be contacted on 011 455 0769 or via email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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