I am Autistic and a paper that I am working on involves a “political mindset” to solve a problem. I am seeing ways to survive office politics but I am not sure ultimately what it is. Please help.
In: 34
The biggest suggestion I have is the following in mind when dealing with a work situation:
* Never blame anyone specific. “We have an issue” is better than “you screwed up”
* Remember the goal is the please the customer, so frame everything in that manner. *This can be a big one, as it often means breaking normal procedures, but get permission.
* Don’t assume people know the tradeoffs of a situation. Provide the details
* Get it in writing. After a verbal conversation with an agreement, send an e-mail re-stating what was discussed (This is also called “cover your ass”)
* If someone outside your department asks for something, make sure your boss knows about it.
* If you are going to push back against something, have evidence to support you, make your argument in writing, and cc in bosses.
* Don’t argue with your boss. If they tell you to do it, do it. You can inform them of trade-offs though. eg: “Sure boss, I can create that report, however I have these other 3 reports in front of it, how do you want me to prioritize them”. You are saying yes, and allowing your boss to set the priority (This prevents certain people from overriding your schedule, and also the boss should know the important people in the office better)
* In the following order, these people should be taken care of first (unless expressly told otherwise)
1. Executives (VP/C-suite) directly
2. Your manager’s manager
3. Executive assistants
4. Your boss
5. Other management
6. Other people
Latest Answers