Meritocracy, Results Orientation and Profit focus. We equate all Private organizations with these words. While these should definitely be attributes of any successful Private owned organizations in any free market economy, these organizations may necessarily not be the epitome of meritocracy where only the best would rise and survive. This is a big fallacy.
Fair to say that organizational culture also plays a very big role in how the company deals and tolerates politics. In large organizations your boss or manager decides your life. You could either do well or be assigned to the sidelines. If the organization’s top management tolerates politics for reasons that suit them, then it would be in no way a great organization. Professional managers may not always have the maturity and moral fabric to be not part of any establishment that nurtures and thrives on politics. Some professionals are like scorpions; they are poisonous when they bite but they are more dangerous when lurking in dark and dingy corners, and plotting. These poison darts think that they are very smart. The reality is that they are cowards who hardly hesitate running over other people who challenge them.
Most organizations are political because all constituents are always to trying to not only survive but get ahead. As organizations become large, we often find that decisions are rarely made on merit but based on a combination of factors like the relative political standing of various stakeholders as well as the jostle around for power.
This only gets more apparent as one goes up the ladder of the organization. Things are less black and white with very wide band of grey. In the corporate world perception shapes one’s career and growth because it takes the shape of reality. Professionals should invest time and resources in managing perceptions not merely to manage a rising career graph but to survive as well. Leaders and Senior Management form opinions based on perception.
Perceptions are formed based on observation, hearsay and the office grapevine. It really does not matter if a particular fact is the reality or not because perceptions automatically become reality.
A casual comment, a casual observation at a time when we are not on guard results in perceptions being formed. As they say, even walls have ears. In this whole game we give too much importance to the end result than to the means. Perceptions are formed from the means used to achieve a goal-hence the means are as important as the results. Running away for company politics is not an option, it is for us to manage it and use it for the best advantage.