Some executives are uncomfortable using power or office politics, viewing them as the dark side of workplace behavior. They believe morale and commitment erode when politics dominate the environment.
But research clearly shows that being politically savvy and building a power base pay off.
Sources of Influence
There are three sources of influence in an organization: positional, relational and personal:
- Positional power: Your title and job status confer some level of formal authority.
- Relationships: Informal power stems from the relationships and alliances you form with others. If you do a favor for someone, the law of reciprocity impacts your relationship.
- Personal: Some people generate influence based on their knowledge, expertise, technical competencies and ability to articulate ideas or a vision that others will follow. Your communication skills, charisma and trustworthiness help determine your personal power.
Open to Influence
Executives and managers who are open to peers’ and subordinates’ input garner greater respect than those who resist others’ influence. An openness to influence demonstrates trust and respect, which become reciprocal and contagious.
You can offer goods and services to a potential ally in exchange for cooperation: technical assistance, information, lease of space or equipment, a plum assignment and the like. Understanding what others want or value is crucial.
Avoiding Power
Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and author of Power: Why Some People Have It—And Others Don’t, cites three barriers that cause executives to shy away from using power to extend their influence.
This article examines three ways people avoid power, why power is so important to success, persuasion tactics, and practical steps for leveraging office politics in an ethical manner.
———————————————
This is a brief synopsis of a 2000 & 1000-word article suitable for consultants’ newsletters for executives and leaders in organizations. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials.
You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.
The complete 2,000 word article includes these important concepts:
- Sources of Power
- Open to Influence
- Currencies of Exchange
- Power without Authority
- Avoiding Power
- Fair Play?
- Persuasion
- Office Politics
——————————————————————————–
If you are a Content for Coaches client and your account is current, no need to order. Send me an email to confirm that you wish to use this article for your next newsletter.
All others please use the order links below.
Order Links to purchase this article:
a. Text, 2000-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $79 –
Power, Politics, and Persuasion
Sept10-105a 2000-word article, reprint rights
b. Text, 1000-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $57 –
Power, Politics, and Persuasion
Sept10-105b 1000-word article, reprint rights
Even with a solid foundation of good moral values, no one is immune to making unethical choices.
Ethical slips and traps are rampant, from telling white lies that protect a friend, to ignoring a gut feeling and following orders when we know better.
Not a month goes by without some highly publicized ethical scandal. Be it tax evasion, executive pay excesses, sexual dalliances and outright fraud, many individuals are simply unable to resist temptation.
Does this make the perpetrators corrupt sociopaths?
Sometimes, but usually not.
They’re often leaders and pillars of the community, and their actions leave us shaking our heads and wondering what were they thinking.
The sad truth? No one is immune. Cheating isn’t limited to those in positions of power. While power is certainly fraught with opportunities and temptations, each of us faces daily choices that involve doing the right — or wrong — thing.
Only when a CEO, politician, celebrity or sports legend gets caught does the problem rise to front-page news. Just ask Tiger Woods.
But the same ethical traps lie in your path. Even the little guys transgress. Often, people feel an urge to cheat — a strange pull to try to get away with something. Sometimes it’s small; other times it’s scandalous. Sometimes it matters; other times it goes unnoticed.
What exactly happens inside our heads when we choose to violate our ethical standards? Do we lose sight of what’s right? Do we take the easy way out? Are we driven to win at any price? Are we attracted to our “dark side”?
———————————————-
This is a brief synopsis of a 2000 & 1000-word article suitable for consultants’ newsletters for executives and leaders in organizations.
It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials.
You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.
The complete 2,000 word article includes these important concepts:
- Ethical Roots
- The Brain Science of Traps
- Four Basic Tribal Drives
- The Ethical Stage
- Root Causes of Traps
- Primary Traps
- A Study of Business Ethics
- 12 Questions for Examining the Ethics of a Business Decision
——————————————————————————–
If you are a Content for Coaches client and your account is current, no need to order. Send me an email to confirm that you wish to use this article for your next newsletter.
All others please use the order links below.
Order Links to purchase this article:
a. Text, 2000-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $79 –
Click HERE:
Ethical Slips - Jan10-97a – 2000 word Article
b. Text, 1000-word Article with Full Reprint Rights, $57 –
Click HERE:
Ethical Slips - Jan10-97b – 1000 word Article
