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7 Principles of Office Politics & How To Master It Like The Top 1% | Sandeep Das — Transcript

by Sandeep Das · 3,558 words · 511 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Your manager is not your advocate.
0:02Always remember this is a transactional
0:05relationship. If you tell people here
0:07are my weaknesses, I struggle when
0:09talking to people. I get nervous. People
0:12will use it behind your back. Loyalty
0:15does not mean anything in business. If
0:18you have leverage, you can get what you
0:21want. In this video, I will tell you
0:23seven tactics how to manage office
0:26politics.
0:28Let me ask you a question. Have you ever
0:30faced politics at work? Have you done
0:34your piece of work, you've delivered,
0:36but you've not got your due? Do you
0:38believe people talk rubbish behind your
0:41back? Do people unnecessarily fight? Do
0:45people unnecessarily spread rumors in
0:47your name? You were supposed to be
0:49promoted, someone else got promoted? All
0:51of this is politics. Have you ever faced
0:54it at work? If you have faced this at
0:57work then this video I will talk about
1:00very very uncomfortable truths on how
1:03you have to manage office politics. In
1:06this video I will tell you seven
1:08tactics. I'll tell you seven tactics how
1:11to manage office politics. If you want
1:13to grow in life you have to embrace
1:16politics. I am not telling you go and
1:18harm somebody else. But I'm also telling
1:20you politics is not a bad word. It is a
1:23skill. It is a skill you need to know
1:26how to handle it. Nobody's asking you to
1:28damage somebody else. What are those
1:30seven principles of politics? Now, some
1:33of this may trigger you. It is
1:35uncomfortable. It's going to be raw. It
1:37is not going to be polite. But if you
1:39want to be a CEO, you have to embrace
1:41these seven principles of managing
1:44politics. Number one, you're not going
1:46to like this. Never prepare a number two
1:50at work. Never prepare a number two at
1:53work. I was recently on a podcast with
1:54Raj Shamani and I'd made this point. Now
1:58one of the things with politics is if
2:00you are an employee you have to ensure
2:03you become irreplaceable and the way to
2:06manage that is to ensure your successor
2:09is not ready. This is against all
2:12conventional leadership. Now is this my
2:14opinion? No it is not. There's a very
2:16famous course in Stanford which is
2:18called paths to power. It's one of the
2:20most hit courses at Stanford and it says
2:23two principles on politics. Number one,
2:26it says do not prepare a number two. If
2:29you see around the world, what is
2:31happening? All people who are in their
2:3340s, 42, 43, 46 are getting replaced by
2:37someone who's 36, 37, 38, your company
2:40is not valuing your experience. So if
2:42you prepare the number two, one bad
2:44quarter, you will get fired. So number
2:46one, never prepare a number two. Number
2:48two in managing politics under this
2:51theme is ensure as many people as
2:54possible are reporting to you. Ensure as
2:57many decisions are going through you.
2:59Even if you become the bottleneck, you
3:02become irreplaceable. I know this is
3:04uncomfortable. But as research by
3:06Stanford has proved, if you want to have
3:08a long career, you have to ensure there
3:11is no number two. You have to ensure as
3:14many people as possible are going
3:16through you. you are taking the final
3:19decision. What is the number two
3:21principle in managing politics? And many
3:23people make this mistake. Your manager
3:26is not your advocate. Understand what is
3:30your manager's role? You're a resource
3:33for your manager. It is your manager's
3:36job to manage you as a resource. If the
3:38manager believes that you are best
3:41person there and should not be promoted
3:43to the next level, that person will keep
3:46you there. If the manager believes you
3:48are very very important, they will
3:50actually promote you. If your manager
3:52believes you can be replaced with
3:54somebody cheaper, the person will do it
3:56overnight. Your manager is not your
3:59advocate. Always remember this is a
4:02transactional relationship. You are a
4:04resource. Your manager does not see you
4:07as a human being. If your manager saw
4:10you as a human being, over 100,000 jobs
4:12in the tech sector would not have gone
4:15in the last 6 months. So your manager is
4:18not your advocate. Now the question is
4:21given this how do you make yourself
4:24irreplaceable.
4:25The first thing you have to do is
4:28understand for your manager what are the
4:32most important priorities for the year.
4:34That is what you should be solving. You
4:37should ideally try and say these are the
4:39three things that it's most important
4:41for my manager. I am going to do two out
4:44of those three things. Now you become
4:47fully irreplaceable for your manager
4:49because you're doing the most important
4:51things for your manager. So that is the
4:54first question you have to ask. How do I
4:56do more and more work for your manager?
4:59How do I make him fully free where all
5:03his work or her work is coming towards
5:06me? Once you do that, you will see a lot
5:08more value that will come from your
5:11manager. The next principle, the next
5:14principle that is very important in
5:16politics is it also comes from the 48
5:19rules of power. Information is
5:21everything and information asymmetry.
5:24Most people do not have the right
5:26information. So let's look at real
5:27estate. Information matters because the
5:30person who knows which neighborhood is
5:32good actually goes on to win and make a
5:34lot of money. In terms of poker, someone
5:36who reads the other players better of
5:38course win. Information asymmetry
5:41matters a lot and if you want to manage
5:44politics you have to manage information
5:47asymmetry. So for example one of the
5:50things you have to understand in your
5:52company is who is the power center.
5:56Which person at a senior level is
5:58getting all the big projects. Which
6:00person when a town hall happens is
6:02speaking the most. Which person everyone
6:04is saying will be the next CEO. That is
6:07the power side. you have to go and align
6:10with that person. Always remember if you
6:13align with the right people, your career
6:16is probably sorted. Also remember who is
6:19not doing well. If you're aligned in a
6:22team where the person at the top is not
6:26being treated well by the company, which
6:28means what? They are not getting enough
6:30talk time at a town hall, at a company
6:33offsite. You see your team is not doing
6:36well revenue-wise, costwise. Your top
6:39manager, your top boss is not getting
6:42attention, it's a bad sign. You should
6:45leave that ship immediately because
6:48remember, no one cares about loyalty
6:51when the ship is sinking. So, if you
6:52believe your larger team is sinking, try
6:55making an exit plan. Go to a more
6:57successful team. You don't have to leave
6:59the company. Try and align with more
7:01powerful people. The next principle we
7:04will go into again you may not like this
7:07is the next principle of politics is
7:09leverage is everything. It's one of the
7:12biggest principles in negotiation that
7:15if you have leverage you can get what
7:19you want. But do you have leverage at
7:21the workplace? And a lot of employees
7:23think no no we don't have leverage. We
7:25are entry- levelvel people mid-level
7:27people. How do you have leverage? So
7:29here are ways you can build leverage.
7:32And if you have leverage, you can
7:34negotiate for your promotions. You can
7:35negotiate for your salary height. So how
7:37do you have leverage? Number one, be the
7:40one person who knows one skill extremely
7:44well. You are the master of that skill.
7:46Whether you know it or not is different.
7:48The perception should be that you know
7:50something really really well. That's
7:53number one. You are the undisputed
7:55expert in that skill. And also ensure
7:59and I know this sounds wrong. Do not go
8:01on teaching everybody that skill. Keep
8:03that to yourself. That is politics.
8:06Nothing wrong or right. This is how the
8:07world runs. Number one. Number two,
8:09build a network outside your company.
8:12It's very, very important that your
8:14current employer see you as someone who
8:16has options. So, go to conferences, meet
8:20people from your competitor companies,
8:22go and talk to them, have a presence
8:25online. So, your current employer should
8:27think this person as options. When your
8:30current employer think this person has
8:31options, they will treat you better.
8:33Your leverage automatically goes up. Do
8:36not be excessively loyal when you are a
8:39employee. Loyalty matters when you're an
8:41entrepreneur. Loyalty doesn't matter
8:43when you are a employee. Number three,
8:45have savings. These days the market is
8:48not very good shape. So today the one
8:50thing you should do is take 6 months of
8:52working capital and put it in a savings
8:54account. When you have that in your
8:56mind, I have 6 months of working capital
8:59with me. Automatically you will perform
9:02better at work. You will be a little
9:04more assertive. You will not take
9:06rubbish that comes from your manager.
9:08Number four, ask yourself what are the
9:11other skills of the future which your
9:13company may not be helping you with and
9:15how do you get those skills. So
9:17typically what are the skills of the
9:19future? Storytelling is one skill of the
9:21future. Strategic thinking is one skill
9:23of the future. Executive presence is a
9:25skill of the future. Try and learn those
9:27skills which the market wants. Your
9:29company may not be giving it. But if you
9:31have it, the company will someday see
9:33and say this person is ready for the
9:35next level. Number five, always document
9:38your impact. Document your impact
9:41because managers have this good habit of
9:43forgetting your contribution. So
9:45whenever you've created an impact
9:46especially in financial language you
9:49saved cost you increased revenue
9:51document it share those emails some
9:54client has praised you share those email
9:56as much as possible with everyone do not
9:59feel shy your work will not speak for
10:01yourself if you cannot market yourself
10:04the world cannot do it for you so
10:06remember document everything share
10:08everything so if you have these five
10:11sources of leverage automatically you
10:14can manage politics better. Next
10:17principle in negotiation which most
10:19people don't know is most people think
10:21you negotiate for a promotion or you
10:24negotiate for a salary hike during the
10:26appraisal season. This is completely
10:28wrong. I worked for close to 20 years
10:30now. I can tell you the real
10:32negotiation. Appraisal is just a
10:34formality. The decision has been taken 6
10:37months before. Never negotiate for a
10:40promotion or a hike during the
10:41appraisal. That is just formality. What
10:44you need to start that process is 6
10:46months before you need to have the
10:49conversation. I am looking to move up to
10:51the next level. I am looking for a 20%
10:53hike. My salary needs correction. 6
10:55months before your appraisal, this needs
10:58to be done. That is how you need to do
10:59it. Now, what you also need to do during
11:02this phase is you need to show your
11:05leverage to your current employer.
11:07Sometimes in my life, I've often seen
11:10with me and my peer systems, employees
11:12were promoted when the line managers
11:15feared this person will leave if we do
11:18not promote him or her. This is the
11:20golden philosophy. HR will only promote
11:22you if they feel you will leave. If they
11:26do not promote you, it doesn't matter
11:27about whether you're good or bad. If
11:29they feel you are somebody who will not
11:32leave, they will say take six more
11:34months. We need to see these three
11:35things. is we need to show these four
11:36things. But if they feel you're going to
11:38leave, they will promote you. How do you
11:40push this perception that you will
11:42leave? Number one, you need to have that
11:45brand outside. You need to talk to
11:47people outside. Number two, if you're
11:49not sure if the promotion will happen,
11:52you need to actively interview, get a
11:55role, and before the appraisal, sit with
11:58your manager and say, "I am getting this
12:00role, which is a 20% hike. Let me know.
12:02Are you going to promote me? then I'll
12:04stay here or else I will go there. It
12:06sounds transactional but this is how
12:07careers grow. If your manager says yes I
12:10will give you that then you stay or you
12:12think but if they are 50/50 we will see
12:15in the future then you leave. Remember
12:17most promotions in life are
12:19negotiations. These are this is not
12:21about your performance. This is about
12:23managing your politics. The other thing
12:25you have to do with this is the one way
12:27to show leverage is never tell your
12:30employer you're very happy with them. If
12:32your employer thinks you're very happy
12:34with them, it means that the HR knows
12:36you will not leave them. You always have
12:38to tell them yes there are two things
12:40that are nice, there are two things that
12:42are not so nice. So if they think always
12:44remember when someone thinks you can run
12:46away is when you have maximum leverage
12:49in the room. It sounds wrong but that is
12:52exactly how the world works. Next
12:54principle of managing politics is you
12:57need to have visibility. Visibility is
13:00performance.
13:03This is an FMCG principle works in every
13:05part of life. Visibility is performance.
13:08How do you drive visibility? Number one,
13:11always remember your line manager is
13:13probably your enemy, but your line
13:15manager's line manager is your best
13:17friend. So have an excellent equation
13:19with your manager's manager. And what
13:22you should do is with that person every
13:24two weeks, try and have a catch up.
13:26Whenever you get a chance, meet them in
13:28the offsite. Talk about your
13:30achievements. talk what you are doing
13:32with that person. If you have an
13:34equation with the person above above
13:36your line manager, you generally have a
13:38very good principle. Number one. Number
13:40two, have a very good equation with your
13:42line manager's peers. This is again
13:44about generating options. So all the
13:46peers of your line manager have great
13:49working relationships with them. So your
13:51line manager should also think if I
13:52don't treat this person well, forget
13:54leaving the company in my company, he
13:56can just he or she can just go to
13:58another person. So have excellent
14:00relationship with your line managers
14:02peers. Number three, whenever you get a
14:05platform and all of us struggle to do
14:07this, talk about your work. Whether it's
14:10a webinar of your team, whether it's an
14:12office offsite, talk about your work.
14:14What is the impact you have created? And
14:16some people may think this person is
14:18showing off. No, you need to do it. If
14:20you don't do it, you will not move up.
14:22So talk about your achievements in
14:24public forums. That is how you will
14:27actually go up in terms of that. Another
14:30thing that you need to understand is who
14:34should know you for what. So if it is
14:36your peer, if it is your peer, they
14:39should see you as someone who
14:40collaborates. If it's your line manager,
14:43they should see you as someone who's a
14:45performer. If it's someone in the
14:47leadership team, they should see you as
14:49someone who CEO material. So
14:51accordingly, you have to pivot your
14:53messages to your peers. with your peers.
14:55You do not want to show them that you're
14:57CEO material. They will get jealous.
14:58They will sabotage your case. So, you
15:00need to know who to show what message.
15:03Another thing about managing politics is
15:06never share your struggles at work. No
15:08one cares. People talk about
15:10authenticity. Sometimes authenticity
15:12makes you weak. If you tell people here
15:14are my weaknesses, I struggle when
15:16talking to people. I get nervous. People
15:19will use it behind your back. That word
15:22will reach your manager. That word will
15:24reach your line manager. Do you know
15:26Separ gets anxious before talking to
15:29clients? Your line manager will not give
15:31you the big client meeting next time.
15:33Never ever talk about your struggles at
15:36work. What are your weaknesses? Do not
15:38talk to them in public. Everyone is out
15:40there to just spread that message and
15:42you don't know what damage it will do to
15:44you. So that's very very important in
15:47terms of that. The final message I want
15:48to talk about in terms of politics,
15:51probably the most one is knowing when to
15:54leave. You most people overstay their
15:58tenure in companies. I know so many
16:00people who work for a year, didn't get a
16:02salary hike. The manager gave a pep
16:03talk. They said, "Next year we'll do
16:05something. Next year they worked again."
16:07They didn't get a salary hike. The
16:08manager kept repeating a narrative. Kept
16:10repeating a narrative. the person out of
16:12innocence or vulnerability trusted the
16:15line manager went for three or four
16:17years didn't get a hike didn't get a
16:18movement very very important you should
16:21know when to leave if you stay on
16:25despite the fact the company is treating
16:27you badly the HR will think you are weak
16:30or the HR will think you have no market
16:32value leaving a company is one of the
16:34best ways to manage politics when should
16:36you leave the company number one you see
16:38a manager is threatened by you if you
16:41See your managers trying to take credit
16:42for your work or not giving you chances
16:45to present in big platforms. They're
16:47threatened by you. You need to leave.
16:48May join another team, may join another
16:50company. Number two, company is
16:52declining. This is the biggest red flag.
16:55Nobody nobody survives on a sinking
16:58ship. It doesn't matter how good an
17:00individual your CEO is. If you see the
17:02business does not have long-term
17:04prospect, if you see your team is
17:06sinking, leave immediately. Nobody wants
17:08to be a martyr at the workplace. So you
17:10need to be irreplaceable first. Number
17:12three, you're not really learning.
17:14You're doing the same job again and
17:16again. You're not really learning. It'll
17:17catch up in a year or two. Some people
17:19think, I'm very comfortable. I've been
17:21here for 5 years. I know this work at
17:22the back of my hand. But you are not
17:24learning. It'll catch up in 2 years. In
17:262 years, you will get replaced. Number
17:28four, you have better opportunities.
17:30People are reaching out to you. HRs are
17:32reaching out to you and saying, "Come
17:34here. We'll give you a better
17:35opportunity." Of course, you should
17:36leave. Loyalty does not mean anything in
17:39business. You have to be selfish about
17:41your interest in terms of that. Number
17:43five, you feel the culture is toxic.
17:46Every Monday morning you get up and then
17:48you say, who's going to go to work? We
17:50all have issues when some Monday morning
17:52we don't want to go to work. But every
17:54Monday morning if you have this feeling,
17:55oh my god, I have to go to work. Culture
17:58is toxic. You should leave. That is how
18:00you manage politics in terms of when to
18:03leave. Leaving is one of the best acts.
18:06This is called the act of walking away
18:07is one of the best negotiation things
18:09you can do when you actually have to
18:12manage your politics. So what I want you
18:14to do is I'm going to summarize all the
18:15principles. I want you to ask yourself
18:18are you in a political politically
18:20charged environment right now. Which of
18:22the tactics you will use? I want you to
18:24drop those comments, drop your notes in
18:28the comments. What are the three tactics
18:29you will use? I'm going to summarize all
18:31the tactics again so that you can manage
18:33a political situation. I want you to
18:35write it in the comments so that it gets
18:38registered in your brain and you can
18:40actually do it. Number one, never
18:42prepare a number two. I know it sounds
18:44wrong, but it's the reality of the
18:45situation. Stanford says it. Number two,
18:48your manager isn't your advocate. You
18:50have to manage your manager. Number
18:53three, always have information
18:55asymmetry. Alignment means everything
18:58when it comes to power centers. Number
19:01four, build your leverage. I gave you
19:03five six things in terms of how to build
19:05your leverage. Number five, real
19:07negotiation happens 6 months before the
19:10appraisal season even starts. Number
19:13six, show visibility, not vulnerability.
19:16And number seven, walk away. Walking
19:19away increases your leverage and you can
19:22manage politics. Now, I want you to
19:24write down three things you will do from
19:26tomorrow to manage politics. And I also
19:28want you to share this video with
19:30someone who's struggling to manage at
19:33politics. The last thing I want to tell
19:35you is I also have another series that's
19:37coming on Wednesday. Every Wednesday I
19:40take one business concept and I
19:43absolutely demystify it for you. What is
19:46the literature? How can you use it in
19:48your life? What are three applications?
19:50And how will it help you become 1%
19:52better. So if you like that, please do
19:54check that on Wednesday. Every Friday
19:56anyway I'm releasing another video. With
19:58this we come to the end. Thank you so
19:59much.

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