The Hindu Business Line : Backstabbing can escalate during downsizing

What is politics? ‘The art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy,’ Ernest Benn defines. And Charles DeGaulle, as you may remember, looks at politics as too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

An etymological and entertaining discovery by Larry Hardiman is that the word ‘politics’ is derived from the word ‘poly’, meaning ‘many’, and the word ‘ticks’, meaning ‘blood sucking parasites’.

As a democracy, we are only too familiar with politics in practice. Have you ever wondered what office politics is? Popularly, the phrase has a negative meaning, “conjuring up thoughts of kissing up to the boss, backstabbing rivals, and being insincere to obtain what you want,” writes Andrew J. DuBrin of Rochester Institute of Technology in Political Behavior in Organizations ( www.sagepublications.com), billed as ‘the first true textbook’ on the subject.

‘Organisational politics’ is power in action, often perceived as ‘a group of influence tactics used to serve self-interest’.

A startling finding from research cited in the book is that managers spend about 20 per cent of their time dealing with company politics, or about one out of five working days. To some, the percentage can be ‘startling’, as an underestimate!

Another finding is that during a 12-month period, challenging the CEO’s opinion one less time, complimenting the CEO on his or her insight two more times, and doing one personal favour, increased, by 64 per cent, the chances of an appointment to a board where the CEO was already a director.

An important chapter, which may serve as a survival guide for many, is on ‘The control of dysfunctional politics’. While individuals high in political skill tend to view an environment of heavy organisational politics as ‘an opportunity to utilise that expertise’, those who are low in political skill can see a highly charged political environment as ‘a threat,’ and therefore, be stressed.

A high degree of organisational politics becomes dysfunctional when the political activity distracts the worker, and job performance suffers as a consequence, the author observes.

“The distraction is strongest when the person does not want to engage in political behaviour. Instead of concentrating on the job, the person might engage in counter-manoeuvres against the political players, such as retaliating against an accusatory e-mail.”

Another effect of dysfunctional politics is the slowing down of decision-making. Many meetings end without a decision being made because opposing factions want the decision their way so their side looks stronger, DuBrin explains.

He suggests that an ideal approach to minimising dysfunctional politics is to have a prosperous organisation in which people can earn high compensation and be promoted without having to discredit other individuals and organisational units.

“When people are well compensated financially and are enthusiastic about their work, they tend to concentrate more on tasks and less on posturing. Behaviours such as backstabbing are more prevalent during periods of austerity, including downsizing.”

Origin of dysfunctional politics can often be traced to uncertainty and insecurity, DuBrin notes. “Assume that organisational members are informed truthfully about such matters as the criteria for promotion, whether a merger will take place, or whether a product line will be outsourced.

“Under these circumstances, they will be less likely to engage in excessive networking in the hopes of forming the right alliance, and discrediting others.”

The author urges bosses to get rid of yes-people and reward those who offer honest feedback. “Managers must let people know that they are looking for the unvarnished truth,” rather than sycophantic appreciation of the ‘emperor’s new clothes’.

Right read in times of downsizing, to survive workplace politics.

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Backstabbing can escalate during downsizing