All organizations involve politics.
Political action can harm people. But, politics can also help people.
Organizational change and effectiveness depend on political skills.
As a politician, I can act usefully.
I can see real world -- from a political viewpoint. I can initiate an agenda, map the political terrain, create a network of support, and negotiate with both allies and adversaries.
In the process, I will need to answer a strategic question.
The question is:
- Do I adopt an open, collaborative strategy
- Or, do I choose a tough, adversarial approach?
As I answer the above question, I will have to consider the benefits of collaboration, the importance of long-term relationships, and my own values and ethical principles.
A politician may be naïve or cynical.
If naïve then they view most people as kind and trustworthy.
If cynical then they view most people as selfish and untrustworthy.
But, neither approach is useful.
An organization needs “useful politicians” who are balanced and not naïve nor cynical.
A politician can act in a useful manner.
He can guide with ethical choices and values to:
- Satisfy the universal need for everyone to be helpful
- Open up our organzation to public scrutiny
- Look out for others -- beyond ourselves
- Officiate so everyone plays by the same rules.
He can:
- Map our situation
- Set our agenda
- Network to build support
- Negotiate for a more abundant worldview.
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7 comments:
Any good politician is going to learn from their mistakes. Politicians(leaders) at one point in their career are naive and cynical, but self-reflection and experience should guide a leader to become a "useful politician". The tool of listening becomes critical to a politician.
Becoming a useful politician does not occur overnight. I think that we are all naive in the beginning until you have been burned a few times. After that the pendulum starts to swing, the cynicism starts to build and people start to become ineffective. This is part of the natural learning process and helps you develop into the type of leader that you want to become. Unfortunately, it takes experience and time to recognize what it takes to become a useful politician or leader.
Politicians are usually figting to win the race and that often affects thier judgement as to waht polcies will work and what polcies will get them elected. A good politician tries to achieve a balance so that he can really make a difference for a positive change.
We need more statesmen than politicians. A statesmen will let you know where they stand on an issue and what they believe. A politician will tell you what they believe you want to hear. I've seen both as superintendents, again we need more statesmen.
(Dan McGovern)
I feel that our goal is to understand the political side of being a leader. Handling the political view is only one aspect of being a leader. These days, when we hear the word "politician" it is almost synonymous with the word "liar". As a leader, we need to understand and handle the politics involved in our position without letting this single frame encompass our every decision.
One way that being a good politician will benefit a leader is by developing strong relationships with both the city, and the parks and recreation department.
One way that being a poor politician will affect a leader is by not involving the educational community in decisions.
I agree that a politician will most likley start off as naive. It is this that will mold the politician into a useful source for the organization in which they are involved. They will be able to answer the question of adopting an open, collaborative strategy or choosing a tough, adversarial approach both carefully and effeciently. After the initital start of being naive, they might shift towards being cynical. Trial and error will shape this politician into a balanced one who is neither naive nor cynical.
A politician will be the useful source of the oganization by guiding it with ethical choices and values. They will see all as useful and act as an official so that all invilved are being treated equally and playing by the same rules.
The effectiveness and adaptation for change of an organization depends on the political skills of the manager/politician.
pati nelson
Our instructor posted the following comment, "Organizational change and effectiveness depend on political skills". Having the opportunity to work in industry before becoming a "public servant", it is interesting to me how true and relavant this message is in either sector. In fact, the more I learn about education, the more it aligns with marketing and sales because both venues involve people working with (and managing) other people. My type A personality style is straight-forward, action and goal oriented.
As a politician I must step back and assess the terrain because I will certainly ruffle the proverbial feathers of those whose personality is more inward and analytical. It remains my job to garner allies rather than stock-up on adversaries while maintaining a balance between doing what is right according to my values and personal ethics. We have all heard the old saying, "one catches more bees with honey than with vinegar"; while I am not particularly fond of bees, I believe that it could be construed as metaphor. Suffice it to say that most people respond to kindness than harshness.
As Dan indicated in his posting, being labeled as a politician is not synonomus with an exemplary record of truth telling. The good news is that we all have the choice of setting the stage so that our circumstances may be appropriately mapped, we set our individual plans, build a supportive team through networking, and collaborate for a worldview that is rich and plentiful.
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