NR<\/p>\n
Politics are inescapable. Despite being more than a year away from the 2008 Presidential elections, media outlets are abuzz with early predictions and coverage of candidates. As the potential nominees from each party canvass the countryside for support, pundits analyze and overanalyze every move they make. Pollsters regularly gather data to gauge voter support for the various politicians. Fundraising dinners are hosted far and wide as campaigns gather capital to advertise their candidates. <\/p>\n
Just as national politics invade the daily news, office politics pervade the workplace. Coalitions develop, managers lobby for control of resources, and employees campaign for promotions. As much as organizations pride themselves on impartial performance reviews and merit-based rewards, personal connections often carry the day. <\/p>\n
Politics are unavoidable, and leaders in the workplace would be wise to acquire political skill. Just as presidential candidates must cultivate charisma, confidence, and diplomatic tact, so too business leaders must gather a specific set of political skills. In the Center for Creative Leadership’s April 2007 edition of Leading Effectively<\/strong>, researchers Bill Gentry and Jean Leslie team with author Gerald Ferris to create a list of strategies to advance a leader’s political ability. <\/p>\n Many leaders are flying blind politically because they are unaware of the impact their words, habits, and mannerisms are having on those around them. Without self-awareness, leaders communicate unintended messages to their colleagues. Gathering feedback clarifies self-perception and allows a leader to interact more persuasively and influentially.<\/p>\n Knowing self has its benefits, but they are limited if a leader cannot sense his or her surroundings. Politically sensitive leaders are attuned to shared values within the organizational culture. They carefully align their communication with company values to appeal to their co-workers.<\/p>\n Politically skilled leaders harness the power of observation. They are quick to understand and slow to pass judgment. They hear first and speak second in order to dignify and respect those around them.<\/p>\n Politically astute leaders elevate common interests above self-interest. They put themselves in the shoes of colleagues who have differing experiences, needs, and opinions. By graciously investing the time to relate with others, they readily gain support for projects and proposals.<\/p>\n Political influence cannot be exercised in isolation. The politically savvy leader establishes friends and allies by being open-handed with personal expertise and resources. As Gentry, Leslie, and Ferris write, “Be a broker of ideas and information — don’t just use your relationships when you need something.”<\/p>\n For those aspiring for greater political clout, seek out mentors who can tutor you for growth in the area of political skill. Such mentors can provide an extra set of eyes to interpret existing political dynamics, and they can lend their experience in a coaching capacity. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n EFFORT<\/b><\/p>\n The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work. The major difference between the big shot and the little shot is the big shot is just a little shot who kept on shooting. Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. There are no traffic jams along the extra mile. NR Politics are inescapable. Despite being more than a year away from the 2008 Presidential elections, media outlets are abuzz with early predictions and coverage of candidates. As the potential nominees from each party canvass the countryside for support, pundits analyze and overanalyze every move they make. Pollsters regularly gather data to gauge voter support…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purposedriven.ca\/wiki\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Seek Feedback<\/h2>\n
Learn Your Environment<\/h2>\n
Listen<\/h2>\n
Turn It Around<\/h2>\n
Activate Your Network<\/h2>\n
Find a Guide<\/h2>\n
~ Oprah Winfrey<\/p>\n
~ Zig Ziglar<\/p>\n
~ Robert Louis Stevenson<\/p>\n
~ Roger Staubach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"