Watching the historic drama of Kevin McCarthy lose the House Speakership 14 times over four days, brings organizational politics to mind. What makes this drama historic? This is the first time:
In 100 years it took a House Speaker more than one ballot to be elected
In over 160 years it took a House Speaker more than nine ballots to be elected (he took 15!)
As change agents we all encounter politics, whether in a corporation, non-profit, a family business, or the government sector. The question is, how often are you engaging with them and putting your politics ahead of the organization’s mission?
What can putting your politics ahead of the organization’s mission look like? It could be:
Engaging in a turf war with other departments / divisions instead of working to resolve it
Attacking or retaliating against employees who are raising valid concerns because you’re either threatened by them or concerned how they’re making you look
Holding progress of a project or deliverable hostage to obtain something for your own personal gain
Being a poor manager to your employees because you’re more interested in the power and/or financial benefits of the role than developing your people
Focusing on managing up with little concern for the emotional wake you’re leaving from interactions with peers, teams, and your employees
And that’s just some of the ways it can show up. What could putting your politics ahead of the organization’s mission be costing you in your career?
In the case of Kevin McCarthy, his politics to obtain the Speakership cost him a loss of:
Trust as he changed his tune from publicly saying Trump carried responsibility for the Jan 6th U.S. Capitol attack in 2021, to later pledging allegiance to Trump
Respect by many in Congress and America as his politics caused Congress to be unable to work these four days (i.e. new members of Congress were unable to be sworn in, new members of the Security Committee were unable to receive security briefings because they were unable to get their security clearance during this time, etc.)
Role security as one of the concessions he made to obtain the role allows any lawmaker to call for his removal at any time
The costs to you in your career are no different. It’s just a matter of whether you’re aware and care you’re losing:
Trust if your behavior is misaligned with the mission of the organization and/or your words
Respect of many of the leaders and employees if your politics are hampering the mission of the organization
Role security as politics cost the organization valuable resources, productivity, employee morale, and more, and eventually someone above you will no longer tolerate these costs and move you out of your role
Over the course of my 20+ years as a change agent, I have seen quite a few people put their politics ahead of the organization’s mission. Many of these people were blind (i.e. were unconscious) their behavior was misaligned with the organization’s mission. This is one of the reasons 360 feedback is so important, so these blind spots can be brought to your awareness.
Reflecting on the above:
The next time you’re offered the opportunity of 360 feedback, what about taking advantage of it so your blind spots can be brought to light?
If you’ve been putting your politics ahead of the organization’s mission, what have been the specific costs to you in your career?
At what point are the costs too high for you?
Call to Action
Unclear what your blind spots are or struggling with aligning your politics with the organization’s mission? Reach out to Rosanne for help so your blind spots can be revealed and you can be a more effective change agent / leader.
Using the comments feature, what is an example of where you’ve seen someone in your organization putting their politics ahead of the organization’s mission (be sure and keep their anonymity by referring to them as manager, leader, VP, etc.)?
Found this blog useful or know someone this can help? Share it with your network and sign up on the home page to receive the latest blog posts.
About the Author: Rosanne Essiambre helps change agents and departments in one-on-one and group settings to be seen, be heard, and be effective in bringing about change in the organization and/or in their personal lives. She provides consulting and facilitation to organizations to improve communications and collaboration, smooth out the change / transformation journey, get to the root cause of an issue so it can be solved for good, improve processes, and implement successful lessons learned. And she conducts workshops, trains, and speaks on Energy Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, Being a Change Agent and more. If you or your organization could use support with your change effort or some inspiration, contact Rosanne for a complimentary discovery session. Rosanne is a Change Agent Coach, Facilitator, Six Sigma Black Belt, Change Management / Continuous Improvement Consultant, Speaker, and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner with more than 20 years experience working on a variety of transformations across a diverse set of industries both domestically and internationally, while continuously improving herself.