The Practical Drucker

CHAPTER  |  FOURTEEN

What to Do About Office Politics

Office politics is the name we give to the negative and harmful maneuvering for position, power, status, and favoritism—or just plain love of the game-playing—that occurs to varying extents in many offices across the country and around the world. Office politics are difficult to control because organizations are made up of human beings with many different ideas, values, and personalities, and their ability and willingness to cause mischief varies widely as well. Worse, office politicians, whatever their goals, pay no entry fee and rarely incur a penalty for their participation. So there are few barriers to playing the game, and the cost to the individual for the actions may be very small. ...