October Is Workplace Politics
Awareness Month

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We find Politics in every workplace — even the home office. Too often, we deal with it by suppressing it. Dealing with workplace politics openly and directly is a key to building a high performance organization.

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Download the press release about Workplace Politics Awareness Month. It's in plain text format, and includes a link to a zip archive of images.ark your calendar! October is Workplace Politics Awareness Month! This October, plan something to help the people you work with come to peace with workplace politics. You could do more in October to raise productivity than all the downsizing, reorgs, acquisitions, spinoffs and what-not have done in the past decade.

Almost everyone is aware of workplace politics — some painfully so. We usually think of Politics as a negative, something to be avoided or even suppressed. Sadly, our usual tactics for dealing with politics only make it worse.

But we can do better, if we deal with Politics differently. Here are just three of the ten insights about Politics that will help you, your team, and your entire organization come to terms with Politics.

Politics comes in two flavors: Toxic and Creative

Toxic politics is toxic to relationships and hurts people and organizations. Creative politics helps us come to better solutions and to create innovations. Creative politics is the basis of healthy competitions.

Suppressing workplace politics makes it more toxic

When we try to suppress all politics, even creative politics, we drive it underground, where it can become toxic. Dealing openly and honestly with politics — both creative and toxic — is a safe way to manage it.

The problem is never the problem

Politics — especially toxic politics — often has a point at issue that everyone agrees is the focus of the current tangle. It might be anything from who gets what in a reorg to office assignments. For toxic politics, the problem is never the problem. Almost certainly, something else is going on.

Politics — both creative and toxic — is part of Life. We can get rid of it only when we end Life. I don't know about you, but I'm not quite ready for that yet. As a beginning, see what you can do about making people aware of the ten insights that can make workplace politics a creative asset. Order Workplace Politics Awareness Month Kit today. Have a great month!