Friday, December 08, 2006
If you are like me and you are lucky (or perhaps unlucky) to be able to work in a big organisation, you would undoubtedly have to contend with the issue of office politics. Office politics usually put people in a quagmire. Should we engage in it? Should we get our hands dirty? I have been through various episodes in my work life where people throw office politics at me to either a) make me look bad so they look better, b) retribution for my lack of capitulation to their tune, or c) my overly argumentative nature which makes them uncomfortable. Invariably my response to these situation is this: I bite their head off... You see, I've come to realise that office politics is nothing more than bullying that we see day in and day out happening in schools. The strong pick on the weak and defenseless so that they can get their way. I come from a big family - 7 boys and 1 girl, and being the youngest, I was sometimes bullied in one way or another when I was growing up, sometimes by my brothers (only sometimes) but usually by my school mates. Again without fail, I always fight back despite my smallish stature when I was young. Headlocks were not uncommon between me and my bullies and when they have felt my fist rubbing on their forehead, they also usually stop bullying me.
The same can be said of office politickers. They are nothing more than grown up school bullies picking on those who either do not know how to defend themselves, or think that by defending themselves, they have dirtied their hands by playing politics. Sometimes however, in the face of being bullied, office politics is a necessary evil. 'Never wrestle with a pig if you're afraid to get dirty' is a favourite phrase of mine because when push comes to shove and someone tries to bully me in the office with their own brand of politics, I can become a real dirty pig, pissing and sh*tting mud down their throat. Ask my ex Head of Department. She's felt my kind of mud in her face before and I can tell you, she did not enjoy it one bit. I'm not saying that we should seek to engage in office politics. God knows I try to avoid it because it is a waste of time and achieves nothing. It is emotionally draining at best, and emotionally destructive at worst. But as Steven Seagal says, don't go looking for trouble, but trouble finds you, you bite its head off. Not defending yourself in the face of an onslaught of toxic politicking amounts to nothing more than you committing career harakiri.
I'm sure there are alot of people out there who disagree with me on this. After all, an eye for an eye is the real reason why we have unreconcileable wars. But for me, bullying is something that doesn't sit well with me, and I hate people who pick on other people because they can... and when it happens in the office and people's careers and livelihood are at stake, that's just asking for trouble... I guess that's why they say dragon birth signs have a fiery nature.. tickle my tail the wrong way and you'll hear me roar and then roast you!
I hear the different banks in Brunei are rife with office politics. Any bankers out there want to share their stories?
Two headed snakes are the worst kind of politickers.
Don't give them a chance to bite you.
If you're not ready to fight if they bite, simply stay away
The same can be said of office politickers. They are nothing more than grown up school bullies picking on those who either do not know how to defend themselves, or think that by defending themselves, they have dirtied their hands by playing politics. Sometimes however, in the face of being bullied, office politics is a necessary evil. 'Never wrestle with a pig if you're afraid to get dirty' is a favourite phrase of mine because when push comes to shove and someone tries to bully me in the office with their own brand of politics, I can become a real dirty pig, pissing and sh*tting mud down their throat. Ask my ex Head of Department. She's felt my kind of mud in her face before and I can tell you, she did not enjoy it one bit. I'm not saying that we should seek to engage in office politics. God knows I try to avoid it because it is a waste of time and achieves nothing. It is emotionally draining at best, and emotionally destructive at worst. But as Steven Seagal says, don't go looking for trouble, but trouble finds you, you bite its head off. Not defending yourself in the face of an onslaught of toxic politicking amounts to nothing more than you committing career harakiri.
I'm sure there are alot of people out there who disagree with me on this. After all, an eye for an eye is the real reason why we have unreconcileable wars. But for me, bullying is something that doesn't sit well with me, and I hate people who pick on other people because they can... and when it happens in the office and people's careers and livelihood are at stake, that's just asking for trouble... I guess that's why they say dragon birth signs have a fiery nature.. tickle my tail the wrong way and you'll hear me roar and then roast you!
I hear the different banks in Brunei are rife with office politics. Any bankers out there want to share their stories?
Two headed snakes are the worst kind of politickers.Don't give them a chance to bite you.
If you're not ready to fight if they bite, simply stay away
Labels: Ranting Lunatic
You can't run away from office politics. I used to be soft spoken during my early days of my career. Probably largely attributed to my family's upbringing styles. But over those years I've developed the means and ways to counter them.
Sometime you need to hit "artificially" hard to gain mutual respects from your work mates and peers but don't ever be emotionally influenced. Better take another day to reflect on the issue before taking matters into your own hand. Doesn't have to be aggressive and don't discount out options which can be subtly done. Be smart ...
No agression needed in office politics. It's about maneuvouring yourself into a position where people can't bully you and gain at your expense from your quiet nature.
I agree time to reflect if important... It's like a chess game sometimes... even non action is a move that can work sometimes depending on the situation.
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