As an executive coach, clients often ask me how they can influence organizational decision-making more effectively without becoming a 'back-stabber' or an 'ass-kisser'. There is a fine line between demonstrating organizational savvy and playing the 'dirty game' of office politics.
The key difference lies in two words: motive, and method. This article gives you nine strategies to help you become more of an expert in the fine art of influence, while staying true to the highest standards of professional ethics and values.
First, the Black Art We have all seen the
Black Art of Influence in action: bosses who suck up and kick down; take credit for the work of others; or leave a wake of burned out staff behind them in their rise to the top. We know colleagues who always seem to have the ear of the boss and create confusion by sowing doubts about others. Or we have experienced subordinates who regularly go over our head because of their 'specialized knowledge'. In virtually every case, the motive is self-serving and the method is underhand. Influencing others becomes a
Black Art when your objective is to turn everything to your advantage, to make yourself look good at other people's expense.
Sometimes people can convince themselves they need to use devious tactics because the cause is just. Methods can include providing misleading or inadequate information, taking advantage of absences to limit opposition, outright lying, withholding approval or obstructing progress. And the list goes on. People can fool themselves into believing that this behaviour is right, especially if they get away with it. But most know the end does not justify the means.
