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How to Navigate Office Politics

May 1, 2017 By Patti Cotton Leave a Comment

Are you a victim or perpetrator of bad office politics?

Sooner or later, you will find that you play both roles – unless you know how to navigate the waters.

What are office politics, and why are they hated?

Office politics get a bad rap, when they actually should be embraced as part of business expertise.

The problem arises when we don’t know how to work with office politics, or worse, we use them to seek advantage at the expense of others or the greater good. This is when things can turn ugly, personal, and damaging.

If you think you can simply avoid becoming involved, think again. When two or more people are gathered together, there will be politics. Politics are strategies people use in order to gain advantage. As human beings, we do this naturally, in order to get what we want, or to advocate for a larger cause.

At best, we call it “influence.” And since reputations, relationships, and careers are made or broken because of office politics, we should learn to master them so that results turn out to be “win-win.”

We often find it difficult to deal with office politics effectively because we don’t know how to approach them. Because of this, we may unwittingly be promoting them, despite our insistence that we don’t play.

When we realize that office politics are here to stay, we can come out on top and make them work for us.

How?

By following these 3 rules:

1. Strengthen your own circle of influence.

Instead of approaching office politics as damage control, see them as useful dynamics to help everyone get ahead. Focus on the positive by strengthening key relationships on a continual basis to expand your influence. When things get hot, you will be well-positioned to emerge victorious. On the other hand, if you are someone who doesn’t have the advantage of guidance or a support network, and you are constantly trying to prove yourself, you are in a vulnerable position and can be shot down easily, whether you are in the room or not.

2. Avoid dysfunctional patterns.

Don’t take sides. When you do this, you polarize people and cloud the issues. Ask yourself – and others – what the issues are, and avoid disparaging remarks about personalities. Make sure that if things get personal, you are the one who pulls the conversation back to the issues. Don’t climb into the pit with others who want to hurt or discredit.

3. Shift the larger culture.

Select a few key colleagues of integrity, and agree that you will be positive PR for each other. I have worked with many groups of professionals, both in the business world and in international government relations. This one strategy has worked to turn entire company cultures around. Are you in the room when an absent colleague is being discussed? Put in a good word for this colleague. Talk about their latest success with a project, initiative, or the way they approach their work.

I challenge you to see office politics as a way to influence a win-win situation!

Patti Cotton helps executives optimize their effectiveness in leading self, others, and the enterprise. Her areas of focus include confidence, leadership style, executive presence, effective communication, succession planning, and masterful execution. With over 25 years of leadership experience, both stateside and abroad, Patti works with individuals, teams, and organizations across industries, providing executive coaching, leadership development, succession planning, change, and conflict management. She is also a Fortune 500 speaker. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.

Patti Cotton

Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.

How to Move Beyond Growing and Surviving

April 6, 2017 By Patti Cotton Leave a Comment

Your Succession Plan

Are you a business leader struggling to grow and survive? It’s time to get a better game on.

Whether you are a business owner, executive, or other professional, you need a succession plan, now.

What is a succession plan?

Most think it’s simply grooming new leaders who can eventually take over a business or corporation. But it’s much more than that. Succession planning should include getting your “house” in order, making sure that systems, processes, and team are identified and developed to effectively meet the future.

Because of this, succession planning is not something you do when you are getting ready to retire.

In fact, succession planning is something that should be an ongoing process now, if you are a business leader who identifies with any of the following:

You want to move the business and your future from surviving to thriving
You are proud of your leadership accomplishments and you see this as a legacy that others should enjoy
You have a vested interest in seeing that your efforts pay off exponentially, not only now, but in the future (financial gains, heirs, etc.)

Most corporate and business leaders spend their time caught up in the daily worries of running the business or enterprise now. They are in a survival mode, or busy trying to scale the company’s efforts to generate more revenue.

When this happens, it’s tough to get ahead – much less lay the firm foundation for something that will pay off now and in future.

These business leaders may see succession planning as an HR function and not a leadership imperative – to their peril. Planning for the future and laying out the strategies to reach it effectively require vision and global thinking. It requires that you set a clear direction with system-wide goals to carry the business into the future.

This means that if you are in charge of an enterprise or your own business, you need to lead the charge.

What happens if you don’t take action, now? What are potential consequences, if you don’t see succession planning as an ongoing process to ensure a healthy and vibrant business now and in future?

Here are a few scenarios where a lack of succession planning has resulted in rapid business decline and demise:

A leader exits without warning, due to illness or another unexpected event.
A company replaces the exiting executive with someone who is not yet equipped to take over. This happens frequently in family-owned businesses and in cases where the company has hired from the outside without ensuring that the new leader is culturally compatible.
The business neglects high-potential talent inside its doors and the talent goes elsewhere.

What does your succession plan look like? Do you have a system in place to identify and develop high-potential talent, business processes, and systems that will effectively meet the future?

Patti Cotton

Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.

Getting Your Bold On

December 7, 2016 By Patti Cotton Leave a Comment

Are You a Gambler or a Calculated Risk-Taker?

There’s a fine line between taking a calculated risk and being a reckless gambler – and you can win or lose big, either way. However, in today’s business world, it is necessary to take risks in order to remain competitive and ahead of the game.

How do you do it so you don’t lose your shirt?

Whether you are an executive, business owner, or other professional, risk-taking is a key factor in your ability to lead yourself and others into the future. It affects your direction, decision-making, choices, and actions. It is the difference between becoming a Vera Wang or Elon Musk – or a Jane Doe or Joe Blow.

Can you become a calculated risk-taker – and win?

Deborah Perry Piscione, author of Risk Factor, says yes. Piscione, a member of former congressional and White House staff, as well as a media commentator for several key news channels, now supports some of the greatest risk-takers in Silicon Valley where technology history is made. She and some of her colleagues have conducted research that reveals the “DNA” of bold risk-takers, and they have discovered several key attributes – all of which can be cultivated.

These traits include such things as refusing to accept the status quo, being in touch with a much greater purpose in life, valuing talented people and understanding how and when to collaborate with them, and being able to effectively execute an innovative idea or direct others as they do it.

Indeed, in my coaching practice, I’ve observed 5 ways accomplished risk-takers differentiate themselves from gamblers:

But at the foundation of all of this is to have a lower level of fear than most people, or even an absence of fear. Because it is fear that keeps us from considering those decisions and actions that are outside of the box, and that will take our business and career from safe and small to extraordinary.

So we tell ourselves that people must just be born with a risk-taking quotient, and that it doesn’t run in our family. This is our excuse for removing ourselves from the equation. We then step back into our ordinary space, playing it safe and small, while others take the leaps and celebrate the rewards.

However, risk-taking isn’t a genetic trait – it’s acquired. You can, at any age, acquire the tools, skills, and knowledge to become a calculated risk-taker, and learn to avoid the pitfalls of those encountered by the reckless gambler.

So it’s back to confronting and overcoming the fear, because the approach to risk-taking can be learned. I’ll be writing about a specific method I use with clients to do this in my next article.

But meanwhile, what fear is holding you back from getting what you want? And how do you move past it? Join us on LinkedIn to share, and for more discussion.

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Patti Cotton helps women executives optimize their effectiveness in leading self, others, and enterprises. Her areas of focus include confidence, leadership style, executive presence, effective communication, and masterful execution. With over 25 years of leadership experience, both stateside and abroad, Patti works with individuals, teams, and organizations across industries, providing executive coaching, women’s leadership development, change, and conflict management. She is also a Fortune 500 speaker. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.

Patti Cotton

Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.

Fast-Tracking Your Way to the Top

November 23, 2016 By Patti Cotton Leave a Comment

Do You Need a Mentor, Sponsor, or Coach?

You know you have what it takes to succeed, but you’d like to move a little faster to get to the top.

Getting help is the smart thing to do – but what kind of help do you need to get there?

Liz was in middle management, but she was bored with her area of responsibility and wanted more out of her career. She knew she was talented, but, although others always complimented her on her work, they didn’t seem to recognize she had more in her – at least, they didn’t say so. However, she was convinced she could contribute at higher levels, if just given the right opportunity. She also knew she could go a couple of directions in the company with her professional background and experience, and wondered which path was right for her.

One day, Liz shared all this with a couple of close colleagues.

“I’m ready for more – but no one has called me into the executive suite to say I’ve won the prize promotion. I know I can do this. How do I get the help I need to get there?”

“Get a mentor,” said Jackie. “Mentors are supposed to give you direction to help you get there, aren’t they? They can give you pointers on specific technical skills – I had one once that taught me how to better analyze financials, and that really helped the way I was able to strategize. Mentors can also put you in touch with other people in the industry to widen your networks and such. So they are a kind of career guide and connector. That has to be good for your career.”

“No, wait,” said John. “I’ve been reading about sponsors – some people call them champions. They are supposed to be better than mentors, aren’t they? If they decide you have more in you, they commit to positioning you with others in high places, and go around talking positively about you. They influence others to take a look at you, and they can volunteer you for projects that will show off what you can do. It’s kind of like the ultimate PR agent with clout.”

“Hey, I’m not sure either of you are right,” piped up Sandy. “My boss hired an executive coach who got her straight into the C-suite. They worked on the way she communicated so that she showed more confidence, instilled more trust – even sharpened her influence skills. And they worked on her decision-making, and how she led her team so that it went from mediocre- to high-performing. It really showcased her abilities.”

“Hmmm…,” said Liz. “It may be that I need all three. Let me reflect on this – stay tuned for an update, people!”

After careful thought, Liz sought out a well-known leader in the industry who happened to live in the area. She explained what she was doing, and that she needed some advice on her career path. This leader met with her, helped her to look at trends within her industry, and offered to connect her with people who could talk about career possibilities within her focus.

Liz then thought about seeking a sponsor. However, the sponsor relationship is usually initiated by the sponsor, and Liz knew she had to stand out before she asked for someone of influence to go to bat for her in the organization.

So she hired a coach. “You don’t know what you don’t know,” she thought. Her executive coach reviewed her career goals with her, and then suggested assessing how she led herself, others, and the enterprise (her area of responsibility). Together, they pinpointed some critical areas for improvement – ways of being, relating, and doing that would help her to showcase to others the exceptional talent she was. Liz and her coach worked over the next several months, and it paid off – someone higher up in the organization reached out to ask about her career goals, and to share they would like to help her get there.

Who’s in your court? And who needs to be?

For a free informational guide to help you determine your best resource for help based on where you are right now in your career, click here.

Patti Cotton

Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.