Blog

Written by author and consultant, David Bancroft-Turner BA (Hons)

The challenge…….

Twenty years ago I started my own training business and the dream was to deliver Leadership Development that made a difference. By that I mean practical stuff, based on real people and what they did and how they did it, and what actually worked in the workplace.  I was younger then, enthusiastic and having spent 20 years in 2 enormous organisations in Banking and Insurance, was relatively wise to how organisations got things done.

What happened……………next

I stood in the Boardroom of a Scottish Bank, and presented the outline of a practical, intensive 3 day workshop on ‘Influencing’ that was to be delivered to 300 Middle Managers who had been identified as the ‘next generation’ of Leaders. All went well, the Chairman agreed the content and process and everyone followed. Job done, happy days……££££££

The phrase that changed my world………

Then...on our way out (our, being myself and my fabulous business partner at the time) we were hustled into a corner of the marbled hallway, behind a huge pillar by the Marketing Director (I thought for a moment I had become a Secret Agent) and he said……. ‘Look, I didn’t want to say anything in there, because what you have proposed is all good stuff. But…….these managers can have all the influencing skills in the world but if they can’t manage the politics of this place then they are SUNK’.  I think I mumbled ‘ok’ at this point……he continued ‘What you need in this workshop is something on how this place ‘REALLY WORKS’’ – I think I must have looked bemused because then he blurted out ‘ The politics, the b***** politics of this place’ -  My mumbling continued ……..’Sure, we can do that’. He said ‘good’ and walked off.

The Lie…….(or is it?)

"So – design a workshop, on influence, something about workplace politics – That’s what he said", I said.

"But we don’t have anything which means you’ve just lied………"

"Well, technically yes, but there must be something out there that we can borrow, buy or build…..?"

And here started the journey, the client journey and our own journey of actually pinning down and defining ‘workplace politics’.

"You lied" filled the air as we headed south on the train. "I did, but it was well intentioned" defending myself as I munched an East Coast sandwich.

"Your intention may be positive but you still lied" and thus began one of the definitions (we have 4!!) of workplace politics.

Definition 1……………. ‘politics isn’t what I do, it’s why you think I am doing it’

In this instance my intention was positive, I was trying to be helpful, I was trying to meet a client need, I was responding to a clear concern. Others, seeing my behaviour may have come to a different conclusion – I may have been trying to make more money, I may be trying so save my own face and/or reputation, or perhaps I told the marketing Director what he wanted to hear in order to save the contract.

And this is what started the journey of designing the ‘workplace politics’ training materials we have today – the online assessments will give all users a great insight into how your behaviour can be interpreted which is a great start to improving your workplace politics skills in a POSITIVE way.

Question to you…….The Marketing Director’s behaviour was interesting as well – I wonder why he hadn’t mentioned this need in the Boardroom?

Watch out for more definitions in the coming weeks...