I wanted to answer differently here, but I’ve been in leadership for a few years and avoiding politics has been a huge challenge. Sometimes to move the needle you have to know who you're talking to and play the game. It's definitely frustrating but there's no way around it if you want to succeed as a leader. Anyone disagree and think it’s possible to lead effectively without playing the corporate game?

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The idea of office politics generally has a bad connotation, but there are good versions of it that you can practice. Just being congenial and getting along with people is the most basic aspect of it. And paying attention to people's interests and seeing that people get what they need is inherently political, and that can be a major factor in the workplace too. If you engage with people in a positive way, you'll certainly be more successful than if you are a lone wolf.

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I agree with manager 1. The simple reality is that it takes a team to get anything done. In order to progress in your own career, then, you need to build a team. Most of whom won’t report to you.

Office politics done right is relationship building, ally building, and behaving in a manner that encourages others to want to work with you, because you show you want to work with them.

You can avoid things like back stabbing, pushing others down to lift yourself up, and so on, which are the negative options for office politics.

From my experience, folks who back stab and take the negative track may climb the ranks to a point, but they leave destruction in their wake and eventually fail because they don’t build a team willing to push forward for them.

Whereas folks who take the positive track, behave ethically and seek to build up and help others succeed, are the ones who build lasting careers and are successful longer term.

I don't think you have to play coporate games to be in leadership. I think you can be a really good leader by being someone who goes against the grain.

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