Turning Challenges into Opportunities: Mastering Organizational Politics

The first thing most companies need to admit is that organizational politics play a part in their employees’ everyday lives. Trying to ignore or downplay this reality can lead to mistrust and disengagement. Accepting it will allow you to start a healthy dialogue around power dynamics and relationships, eventually making the best of them.

Remember it’s not always just about the downsides. Organizational politics comes with its fair share of benefits — when addressed correctly.

This is exactly what we’ll be covering in this article: How to recognize and manage organizational politics.

What is organizational politics?

Organizational politics refers to all of the different ways in which your employees act and the activities they’re involved in that can influence decision-making or help them gain power within a workplace. It’s all around you, part of seemingly “innocent” daily interactions like supporting certain project ideas or handling resource allocation. 

Here’s an example: Ever noticed a group of employees getting together to secure funding or present their achievements for promotions? While your team could first see this negatively, politics can actually support collaboration and drive positive change.

But before we jump into the hows, let’s see what lies behind such power dynamics.

Causes of organizational politics

Anything can be a cause. That is because office politics can form around any topic. There are a couple of more common causes of organizational politics though:

• Fighting for resources: Limited resources (e.g. budget, people) can create a competitive environment where individuals and departments struggle to get their expected share of the pie. Competition can be good, but it can also indicate your people aren’t happy or they might even be unable to do their job properly due to a lack of resources.

• Personal ambitions: Individual career goals and aspirations are valid drivers behind political behavior. Employees may resort to political tactics to advance their careers, seeking visibility and favor with leadership, which can lead to power struggles.

• No clarity into roles: Unclear job descriptions or overlapping responsibilities can create ambiguity, leading to confusion and competition among employees. A study found that ambiguous role definitions significantly correlate with increased political behavior among employees, emphasizing the importance of defined responsibilities.

• Unclear communication: When communication is ambiguous or inconsistent, individuals will deal with uncertainty and make speculations to handle an issue. Research by the Society for Human Resource Management indicates that organizations with transparent communication practices experience lower levels of political behavior, highlighting the role of effective communication in mitigating organizational politics.

The impact of organizational politics

Organizational politics can significantly influence the work environment, affecting aspects like employee morale, trust, collaboration, and productivity, both positively and negatively. Political behaviors in organizations — like favoritism, coalition-building, and informal influence tactics — can create a culture that promotes or undermines certain employee behaviors. 

Below is a breakdown of these impacts and some key studies illustrating these effects.

Work environment and morale

When employees perceive a workplace as highly political, they may feel marginalized, manipulated, or treated unfairly, which often reduces morale. According to Vigoda-Gadot and Drory, organizational politics can create feelings of mistrust, fear, and injustice among employees, leading to dissatisfaction and a lack of engagement. Another study by Vigoda-Gadot found that organizational politics is a strong predictor of both employee withdrawal and voluntary turnover.

On the positive side, employees who are exposed to office politics can become more astute at reading social cues, understanding power dynamics, and building political skills. Gerald R. Ferris further notes that such skills are helpful for handling complex workplace relationships.

Team trust and employee loyalty

Prolonged exposure to organizational politics can erode trust, especially when employees perceive that political maneuvering consistently outweighs merit in decision-making. Over time, this erosion of trust can affect organizational loyalty, commitment, and even company reputation, as employees may speak negatively about the organization outside of work. 

Organizations that address politics openly may build a stronger culture by encouraging employees to voice concerns and seek resolutions through constructive dialogue. Conversely, awareness of office politics can prompt managers and employees to communicate more openly and clarify expectations, potentially fostering a more transparent and trust-driven culture when handled proactively.

Productivity and performance

If allowed, political maneuvering can lead to inefficiencies — In particular when employees want to dedicate their energy on personal agendas instead of business-wide goals. Studies by Harrell-Cook, Ferris, and Duleboh show that long-term political environments negatively correlate with job performance due to persistent anxiety and distraction.

In some cases though, moderate levels of politics can instead stimulate competition and motivate employees to work harder to gain recognition or resources, especially if they perceive that political navigation skills are rewarded.

Organizational politics: examples and scenarios

What does this look like in practice? Let’s explore two hypothetical organizational politics examples and their outcomes.

Hypothetical example: Leadership and junior team members are struggling over project ownership

A junior IT employee, John, proposes a new, cost-effective solution for handling software bugs. John presents it to their manager, who expresses interest. However, during the next meeting with upper management, the manager presents the idea without giving John credit.

John feels left out and that their work has been unfairly claimed. Feeling underappreciated, John shares the story with their colleagues, creating resentment against management among the junior staff. More employees start to lose trust in management, especially as junior employees feel that credit and advancement are political rather than merit-based.

Ideally, an incident like this should get leadership to implement formal recognition protocols for project contributions, improving morale and transparency.

Hypothetical example: HR and Finance fighting over resource allocation and budgeting

Your Finance department is under pressure to reduce overhead and one of the suggested initiatives is to cut HR’s training budget. HR argues that these training programs are essential for employee development and retention, especially in a competitive industry. The two departments hold conflicting views on whether training is a luxury or a necessity.

HR believes that Finance does not fully understand the long-term value of employee training, leading to frustration. Finance, on the other hand, views HR’s pushback as a refusal to understand budget constraints. The organization experiences a power struggle between departments, with collaboration deteriorating as each team focuses on preserving its own interests.

Positively, this situation could lead to a structured budgeting process that includes both financial and employee development needs, ultimately improving communication and cooperation.

6 types of organizational politics you should know

From an extensive point of view, there are six types of organizational politics you need to identify:

Power-driven politics

What this looks like in practice: Forming alliances, manipulating information, and using one’s influence to control decisions and resources.

Risks: It creates a divisive and competitive environment where employees prioritize self-interest over organizational goals. This can reduce morale, increase disengagement, and lead to higher turnover rates.

How to handle: Set clear, objective criteria for decision-making and encourage transparency. You can also try rotating leadership responsibilities within teams to discourage long-term power hoarding.

Favoritism

What this looks like in practice: Individuals or teams receiving better opportunities, recognition, and resources than others.

Risks: This can lead to resentment, reducing morale and trust among employees. It can also lead to less innovation and a potentially stagnant workplace as people aren’t rewarded based on merit.

How to handle: Promote a fair and transparent reward system. Implement regular performance reviews based on objective metrics, and encourage open communication to ensure that all employees feel heard and valued. 

Coalition-building politics

What this looks like in practice: People teaming up to gain support for ideas or initiatives as a defensive mechanism.

Risks: Malevolent alliances lead to competing groups within the organization. This can influence siloed communication, reduced collaboration, and a competitive environment where groups don’t prioritize organizational needs.

How to handle: Support cross-functional collaboration by rotating team members in multi-department projects. This can reduce adherence to a group and build a cohesive company culture focused on diversity.

Information manipulation politics

What this looks like in practice: Employees changing, controlling, or selecting the information they share to achieve their individual goals.

Risks: Information manipulation can lead to poor decision-making, decreased trust, and organizational inefficiencies. It also means you’ll deal with a lack of communication and transparency, as employees may feel uncertain about the credibility of shared information.

How to handle: Develop a culture of open and consistent communication through frequent information-sharing sessions and clear documentation practices. Consider implementing policies that require critical information to be logged and shared systematically.

Blame-shifting politics

What this looks like in practice: Team members blaming each other for mistakes or problems to avoid consequences or protect their position within the company.

Risks: Blame-shifting instills fear and makes people more defensive. This can slow down innovation and make employees more hesitant when it comes to taking risks. It can also harm team cohesion as employees may start distrusting colleagues who shift blame.

How to handle: Establish clear accountability frameworks that define responsibilities for each role and encourage a “learning from failure” mindset. Promote team-based recognition, where teams (not individuals) hold responsibility for the results.

Self-promotion politics

What this looks like in practice: Employees exaggerating their achievements or putting themselves “out there”  at the expense of others. 

Risks: This type of behavior discourages collaboration, reducing team cohesion and keeping employees demotivated. It can also modify performance evaluations when those who promote themselves more visibly appear more productive than others.

How to handle: Make sure you recognize collaboration and team achievements for everyone without asking team members to come forward and present their results. Instead, opt for objective performance evaluations that focus on both individual contributions and team dynamics.

The hidden benefits of organizational politics

Now comes the part you’ve all been waiting for: Looking at the potential advantages of organizational politics

For starters, one benefit is that it shows the networking potential within your company. Employees use workplace politics to build connections. You can use the latter as a resource for gathering unique information and finding opportunities. 

Once you have these “networks” in place, you’re also on your way to building a stronger sense of belonging. Use these to set up mentorship relationships and improve career development for your teams.

But let’s look closer at how these so-called strategic alliances are formed. Politics often involves aligning with like-minded colleagues or departments to achieve common goals, which can foster collaboration and cross-functional teamwork. 

When employees work together to support shared initiatives, they’re more likely to build stronger interpersonal bonds. Hence, you can use these new bonds to drive successful large projects or initiatives that require diverse skill sets and perspectives.

In the end, it all ties into career advancement. There’s no doubt that politics can be harmful. Yet, there’s a lesson to learn from each mistake so you’ll find that workplace politics brings its fair share of opportunities for influence and growth. 

Remember, your role is to make sure organizational politics is balanced with ethical practices. When influence and advancement are based on merit — rather than favoritism or manipulation — politics can become a tool for collective success rather than individual gain.

Leaders play a central role in setting this ethical standard by rewarding collaborative efforts, recognizing contributions openly, and modeling integrity. Organizations can also implement clear guidelines for rewards, promotions, and project assignments, creating an environment where political skills are applied in ways that benefit the entire team.

This takes us to…

The role of leadership communication in navigating organizational politics

Leadership communication is firstly responsible for observing, managing, and preventing organizational politics.

If you’ve set a firm position by being clear about roles, responsibilities, and expectations, you should be able to reduce the ambiguity that often fuels political behavior. If your team members understand what you need from them (and what’s absolutely not allowed), they’re less likely to engage in behaviors aimed at personal gain over collective achievement.

The next skill you need to master for this? Transparent and inclusive communication. With every opportunity, explain the reasoning behind major decisions. Stay upfront about why certain actions are taken and give your team a chance to voice their thoughts. For instance, you can use anonymous surveys (for sensitive information) or one-on-one meetings (for personal communication).

The end goal remains earning your people’s trust. Besides transparent communication, to do this, you need to be a model yourself. By consistently adhering to ethical standards and following through on promises, leaders reinforce a culture where integrity is valued over politics. Make one mistake and you’re back to where you started.

How to effectively manage organizational politics

Not everything is your responsibility though. Every person in your organization has their own role. 

Next is a list of steps both you and your team should consider if you want to better manage organizational politics:

1. Making transparency and fairness your #1 priority

For leaders: Refine the criteria you rely on for making decisions, especially when they impact job roles, promotions, or resource allocation. These should be clear enough for anyone to understand without further clarification, explaining the “why” behind decisions. 

Pair this with introducing open communication as a recommendation on your list of company values. You set the tone for openness by regularly sharing organizational goals, changes, and updates. This transparency helps to align everyone toward common objectives, reducing the need for internal jockeying or speculation.

For employees: All employees have to do at this stage is stay open to your suggestions. They should avoid participating in gossip or speculation. This can prompt political behavior and require further analysis to clarify the true intentions behind such behavior.

2. Giving employees the proper tools for communication

For leaders: Start organizing regular team meetings and one-on-ones. You can use dedicated internal communication tools, feedback platforms, and social intranets to make communication accessible to everyone, regardless of their location. These channels ensure that employees have opportunities to share concerns, ask questions, and stay informed.

It’s important to keep transparency top of mind though. With a lot of information circulating across a variety of channels, it can be hard for employees to keep up. Worse, some might feel left out and start forming smaller “cliques.” With openness and trust comes your own responsibility to facilitate inclusive communication for everyone.

For employees: Your team should be encouraged to use team meetings and shared channels to share concerns or leave suggestions. In fact, it would be best if this were mandatory to some extent. Having everyone pitch in keeps people accountable and improves collaboration over time (since managers can tweak this based on employees’ preferences).

3. Keeping every single person accountable

For leaders: On a similar accountability note, it’s best to set clear criteria for performance, promotions, and rewards to ensure fairness. Keeping these transparent leaves little to no room for favoritism and political behavior. 

Don’t forget the same standards apply to you. You’re a model for everyone else and should take responsibility for your actions and decisions in a culture where everyone is expected to do the same.

For employees: Likewise, your employees need to be fully accountable for the responsibilities mentioned under their roles. When each team member holds themselves accountable, there’s less room for blame-shifting or deflecting responsibility.

4. Working on better solving (and preventing) conflicts

For leaders: Give your team the training and tools they need to handle conflicts. Constructive feedback, mediation, and compromise should be key pillars of effective conflict resolution. Such skills will help them solve conflicts productively or avoid them in the first place instead of turning to political behaviors to resolve issues behind each other’s backs. 

Don’t leave all conflicts on them, though. As a leader, you should jump in to promptly address conflicts impartially. Remember being a model for your team? This is yet another opportunity to act fairly and prevent conflicts from escalating. 

For employees: Employees should learn to focus on solving problems as opposed to putting the blame on someone or something else. Have employees approach conflicts with care, aiming to first find a solution rather than assigning blame.

5. Rewarding performance correctly (with clear expectations and criteria)

For leaders: Got a great individual? That’s one thing. But what about when a project’s success was all about stellar interdepartmental collaboration? Learn to recognize contributions that align with collective goals rather than solely individual achievements. 

Publicly acknowledging team collaboration and collective wins reinforces a culture of shared success. Besides individual objectives, set team goals to support unity and prevent people from acting on their own just to reap more rewards.

For employees: Individualism is human and naturally occurring for all species. Hence, it’s expected. Bearing that in mind, no day should go by without managers encouraging employees to support their colleagues to keep them connected. This can be as simple as a leader asking team members to give a round of applause to a person or team that achieved something in the past week.

But ultimately, it’s every individual’s responsibility to stay empathic and work together with (not against) others. How an employee will collaborate with their peers can also indicate if they’re a fit within your organization and if they can move into other roles (perhaps even leadership or mentorship). 

So, are organizational politics good or bad?

Below is a side-by-side comparison of both the positive and negative aspects that organizational politics can bring:

Notice how the pros tend to counterbalance the negative effects of organizational politics. 

That’s because, ultimately, office politics is neutral. Its effects depend on how it’s managed in the first place. That’s why leaders and employees should prioritize open, honest communication to minimize negative impacts. 

How Staffbase can reduce the negative effects of organizational politics

Staffbase’s internal communication tools help minimize organizational politics by promoting transparency, reducing miscommunication, and building trust. You can use the platform to improve the digital employee experience through:

• Centralized communication: By providing a single platform for company-wide updates, Staffbase ensures everyone receives the same information. This means you’ll end up with fewer rumors or political moves that could result from poor or inconsistent messages.

• Employee app: Staffbase’s mobile app lets everyone on your team stay informed and engaged, whether they work in-office or remotely. Real-time access to leadership updates further prevents information silos and disconnection.

• Leadership communication channels: Direct channels like Q&A sessions or video updates from leadership foster transparency and trust. When employees feel heard and have access to decision-makers, the need for political behavior diminishes.

• Cross-team collaboration: Staffbase gets rid of departmental silos by making communication across teams easier, promoting collaboration over competition.

• Targeted messaging: Use the platform to send custom messages to specific groups so that important information reaches the right people, minimizing the potential for political exploitation.

Build your own cohesive corporate communication strategy to drive success for your entire team. Book a free Staffbase demo!