What You’ll Learn

Every organization has its share of political drama: Personalities clash. Agendas compete. Turf wars erupt. It can make you crazy if you’re trying to keep your head down and get your job done.

The problem is, you can’t just keep your head down. You need to work productively with your colleagues—even the challenging ones—for the good of your organization and your career.

How can you do that without crossing over to the dark side? By acknowledging that power dynamics and unwritten rules exist—and by constructively navigating them. “Politics” needn’t be a dirty word. You can succeed at work without being a power grabber or a corporate climber, and the expert advice in this guide will help.

You’ll get better at:

• Building relationships with difficult people
• Gaining allies and influencing others
• Working through tough—but productive—conversations
• Wrangling the resources you need
• Moving up without ruffling feathers
• Dealing with the boss’s pet
• Coping with office bullies and cliques
• Claiming credit when it’s due
• Avoiding power games and petty rivalries
• Collaborating with competitive peers