While it's easy to think that workplace politics are a necessary fact of life, the truth is that bad office politics can cripple an organization. And, worse yet, dysfunctional leadership is often a key contributor to a morale- and productivity-killing work environment.
Symptoms of Office Politics Led by Bad Management
Projects based on personal agendas. Of course everyone has a personal agenda, and of course everyone brings their baggage to work with them (at least to some extent). The problem is, in dysfunctional environments where poor leadership and management practices are root causes, these agendas become costly projects. As managers and project leads try to outsmart and outshine one another with influential executives, their pet theories and agendas become must-prove-my-point experiments. What's really best for the company (which means its workers, customers and shareholders) ends up taking a backseat to showing everyone how "right" they are.
All talk, little walk performance. If your office is full of loud "I'll get that report right over to you!" banter and yet no one ever seems to hit the "Send" key, image management and imaginary productivity are key corporate concerns. In these environments, adept office politicos know that lower status and/or less political workers will rarely publicly call them on their fake help and shenanigans, so they use it to appear helpful, productive and knowledgeable. This political work culture is double-trouble if your team includes passive-aggressives because it gives them all the cover they need to stealthily bully, sabotage and manipulate coworkers.
WIIFM work. Highly political work environments don't foster collaboration and productive consensus because "What's in it for me?" becomes more important than what's in it for the team, the customer or the company. Yes, on some level we're all selfish and want what's best for us (otherwise we wouldn't want fair wages, good benefits and learning opportunities) but when departments don't collaborate because there's no political pay off, your organization is headed in the wrong direction.
Gossip. Yes, everyone gossips a bit. And (within reason), a certain amount of gossip has even been shown to help build camaraderie. But when the office "dish" is being served by dysfunctional management, you can bet that backstabbing, blindsiding and public shaming are all common practice.
Negative competitiveness. Nasty office politics destroy non-monetary incentives. When workers can't celebrate (or pursue) successes due to fears of co-worker (or worse yet, managerial), animosity, there's little incentive for them to push themselves to be more productive, creative or effective. Negative competitiveness kills the enthusiasm, commitment and feeling of efficacy that many workers need to feel engaged and fulfilled by their jobs.
Trickle Down Theory of Bad Office Politics
The unpleasant reality is that a dysfunctional office is often the result of dysfunctional management, and it's no different when it comes to workplace politics. Employees take their cues from management, and while a bad-apple employee may be able to survive in a healthy office environment, a good employee isn't nearly as likely to survive in a malignant work environment. Worse yet, because a dysfunctional workplace is often the result of dysfunctional management, there's little an employee can do to improve the situation because there's no one to turn to. In most cases, the best "good" employees can hope to do is keep their noses clean without ruining their career aspirations.
How Dysfunctional Leadership Hurts Productivity
While it's easy to blame low productivity on workers alone (after all, they are the ones "producing" the work, right?), there are performance risks associated with bad office politics and poor leadership that have real impacts on bottom lines, project deadlines and employee performance. For instance, to name just a few:
- Frustrated employees may lash out by sabotaging coworkers by withholding information and sabotaging the company by sharing proprietary information.
- Distracted employees may spend more time worrying about which way the office wind is blowing than what they can do to truly improve their performance and skill set.
- Good employees will emotionally distance themselves from the situation and leave the company, taking their skills and ethics with them.
Fixing Bad Workplace Politics
Since out-of-control office politics often begin with poor leadership, management can have a huge impact on fixing a dysfunctional workplace (if it's willing to reward positive behavior and penalize negative behavior). According to the International Institute of Management, actions management can take to cure bad politics include:
- Recognize the criticality of the political problem and its impact on performance.
- Use independent and qualified outside advisors to assess the situation and support a comprehensive change program.
- Use anonymous, confidential employee-feedback surveys to assess managerial performance.
- Foster an ethical, truthful work environment that doesn't tolerate hidden agendas.
- Swiftly and consistently penalize bad behavior.
- Use technology and team-building exercises that foster collaboration, trust-building and sharing of information.
International Institute of Management, Med Jones, Dysfunctional Leadership = Dysfunctional Organization: Workplace Politics and Poor Performance. (August 31, 2011)
Jennifer Silva - Jenn is a professional writer and editor with experience in: technical communications (medical, manufacturing and publishing ...
