Sitting at lunch with Steve, we took stock of how our lives have unfolded since we worked together in 1983-1987. At that time, Steve was a product engineer for TRW LSI Products division and I was heading up manufacturing. We made (at the time) the most advanced large scale integrated circuits on the planet.
It was good to reconnect with Steve. I had admired him during our work together for a few reasons. He never got emotionally flustered when everyone around him seemed to be. He stayed focused on solving the problems. And he never played corporate politics.
As I thought about this, the phrase “corporate politics” stuck in my head. I was reminded again at how universal this concept is, and yet how elusive it is to define. Everyone nods their heads knowingly when someone says something like, “That project never got off the ground. You know. Corporate politics.” Or, “Vijay should have gotten that promotion, not Asmed. Damn corporate politics.” The inference is that a decision has been made which is not based on sound business principles or fair evaluation of the facts. Then what are the decisions being purportedly based upon? Let’s listen in on a conversation…
“I swear, I am so sick of corporate politics” Walter huffed. “You just can’t trust people.”
“Except me,” replied Alina. “Else you wouldn’t be telling me this, right?”
“You know what I mean,” Walter continued. “It’s these 360 degree surveys. The only reason they want us to fill them out is to check a box for corporate, and to go witch hunting for people who aren’t pulling their weight. So everybody joins a little clique, in order to make sure they get enough positive feedback.”
“Does that mean you disapprove of their attempts to protect each other?” Alina asked innocently. “Or does that mean you weren’t invited to join a clique?”
“You can be so exasperating sometimes!” Walter complained. “You know what I mean! Everybody is just out to cover their butts, and the managers are no better. Worse, even. Look at the way they choose favorites by inviting you out to lunch. If you aren’t invited, it means you’re on the wrong list!”
Alina pondered this a moment. “So you think that people are spending a lot of time creating and nurturing alliances in order to protect each other, or help each other get ahead, eh?”
“Yes,” Walter replied. “And if you aren’t in with the right people, your future here isn’t very secure.”
“Have you known people who were fired because they weren’t in the right group?” Alina asked.
“You bet,” Walter said. “Take Sandra Ortiz. She lost her job last year in the ‘restructuring’, and she was the best we had.”
Alina asked, “Didn’t Sandra work on the Franklin project? That was a two-year effort and it was finished. There weren’t any other projects for her to work on, were there?”
“They could have found something for her to do if they wanted,” Walter said.
“Who’s ‘they’?” Alina asked.
Walter looked at her like she was a poor, dumb calf, stumbling around after being born. “Have you been hiding under a rock since you’ve been here? You know who I’m talking about!”
Alina pondered all this carefully. She may be naïve, but she really thought that Sandra’s leaving was purely associated with the work load. Sandra was good, but to keep her would have meant pushing someone else out and giving her their work. That didn’t make sense. So she asked Walter, “Were you and Sandra close?”
“We worked together for a long time. She was a great colleague. Very smart and fun to work with” Walter said, gazing out the window. “She gave me the best feedback on my 360 degree survey last year.”
“Well, isn’t that exactly the kind of activity that you said is ‘corporate politics’?” Alina asked wide-eyed.
When we say “corporate politics”, it usually means that something has occurred that we disagree with, or which has caused us discomfort, economic loss, inconvenience, etc. It means that we lost the argument, were in the minority on a particular decision, felt threatened or unsupported by co-workers…it means we felt at risk, personally. Whenever an individual feels at personal risk due to a conflict with another person, or because of feeling vulnerable to censure or loss of affiliation with the group (like getting fired), the predominant human reaction is to go find other people who will support us. We look for colleagues to agree with us and establish a kind of tribe within the larger organization. Humans defend themselves in groups, most of the time. It’s been the evolutionary trait that has succeeded.
“Corporate politics” is the act of blaming corporate politics for one’s personal dissatisfactions and fears, and trying to find others to agree with us.