How to Survive Hardball Office Politics

5 Unwritten Rules You Need to Know

to ‘Play the Game’ to Win

Toxic office politics . . .

Some co-workers seem to suck the air out of the room, don’t they?

But you can bloom where you are planted.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

The 5 Unwritten Rules

You need to know the 5 Unwritten Rules.

Rule #1: People you work with are not ‘Family’

F A M I L Y

The 5 Unwritten Rules

THIS IS

People you work with are focused on: • Making

money • Staying

employed • Maybe even

‘getting ahead’

N O T F A M I L Y

The 5 Unwritten Rules

THIS IS

Your welfare is not their top concern. If it’s ‘you’ against ‘them,’ guess whose interests win?

The 5 Unwritten Rules

THIS IS

N O T F A M I L Y

The 5 Unwritten Rules

Rule #2: Honesty is not always the best policy

I can tell a lie?

The 5 Unwritten Rules

Is your boss’s homely grandchild ‘adorable’? Of course!

The 5 Unwritten Rules

Would you throw yourself under a bus for the company? Sure!

The 5 Unwritten Rules

Rule #3: Bullshipping is sometimes a good idea.

Observe the masters of bullshipping. It’s an art. Learn from them.

The 5 Unwritten Rules

Great speech, boss!

Ah hah hah hah. That joke was hilarious, boss!

That’s amazing, boss. I love [stamp collecting/etc.] too!

Have you lost weight?

& don’t forget to work hard (& to be nice to your co-workers too.)

The 5 Unwritten Rules

Rule #4: Don’t share personal problems with your co-workers.

The 5 Unwritten Rules

You broke your heart?

You broke your leg?

Your basement flooded?

Be cool, calm & collected. Look outside the workplace for shoulders to cry on.

There will be

a $5 charge for

Whining

The 5 Unwritten Rules

You gain points for showing how you handle a setback by taking it in stride.

The 5 Unwritten Rules

EXCEPTION to Rule #4: This does not apply to Serious personal problems.

EXCEPTION: In the case of truly serious problems, such as life-threatening illnesses or a death in the family, share what you need to with your supervisor, bosses, and Human Resources. They may be able to reassign your workload temporarily, or arrange a paid or unpaid leave of absence. Decency and kindness should prevail.

BE INVINCIBLE

The 5 Unwritten Rules

BONUS INSIGHT: Never have a ‘Problem.’ Talk ‘Challenges’ versus ‘Problems.’

The 5 Unwritten Rules

Rule #5: Know that Information = Power

The 5 Unwritten Rules

Sharing too much personal info leaves you vulnerable to ‘swiftboating’

Swiftboating - attack by a political opponent who twists the truth to make your plus a minus.

Home schooled? You must be one of those weirdos. You went to a

prep school? You must be an elitist snob.

You moonlight? So that’s why you slack off here in the office.

You’re active in [fill-in-the -blank ethnic] club / [f-i-t-b] church? You must have a parochial outlook.

You’re working on a book? No wonder you don’t concentrate enough at work.

The 5 Unwritten Rules

Don’t seek confidants at work.

Google ‘Monica Lewinsky & Linda Tripp.’ ‘Nuff said.

‘Talk into this flower.’

The Boring Strategy

SAFE TOPICS: • Restaurants (but not nosebleed pricey ones.)

• Sports • Recipes • The Weather

Limit your conversation to Safe Topics.

How to Handle ‘Nosy Parkers’

• Smile & don’t answer. If he repeats the question,

ask ‘Why do you ask?’

• Smile & change the subject. NOTE: Always be pleasant as you deflect the NP. They will catch on (that you are not a doofus).

Nosy Parker – co-worker who persists in trying to ferret out your personal info.

Nedra Cleary’s Book

Check out the hundreds of additional career-booster tips in Nedra Cleary’s book. Here are links to both the paperback & eBook versions on Amazon.com • The Innocent’s Guide to Hardball

Office Politics (paperback) • The Innocent’s Guide to Hardball

Office Politics (eBook)

Credits Image Credits Via Flickr Creative Commons*: Petunia: Fuzzy Gerbes; Family Thanksgiving: Britt Selvitelle; Bus – Steve Hodgson; Lincoln – Laszlo Ilyes; Blah Blah Blah by Daniel Lobo (photo slightly edited); Five by Marco Ghitti (graphia); Worried Pug by Chris Gladis; Broken Heart by Nicolas Raymond; Broken Leg by Joe Goldberg; Basement Flooded by Paul Lim; Info Center by Steven Sheets.

*http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

All other images are purchased stock photos. Presentation Presentation prepared for Nostina publishing by Greenbriar Services, LLC.