Understanding Office Politics and Locating Files and Material, Day 2

You made it through the first day with the Human Resources orientation, meeting a lot of new people, even maybe lost your way around the office or plant once or twice. The good thing is that you have "broken the ice." A new day and new responsibilities are waiting for your attention. Two primary areas must be addressed as soon as possible, gaining a rapport and the trust of key personnel and the organizing of your office, so you can easily find things.

Now that it is your second day, you are probably thinking to your self, am I going to remember everyone's name? Am I going to get lost finding my office - again? What will be the agenda for this day? What questions or problems may I have to address? These are valid questions to which you will soon discover the answers. Of course, many other questions will come to mind. Let's move on to, as the philosophers say "To boldly face the day at hand.

On day 1, we discussed a little about office politics. We discussed getting acquainted with the administrative staff and, in general, discovering who does what and for whom. As we mentioned on day 1, this support individuals can provide knowledge and insight about the personalities and traits of many people in the work environment. While the organizational chart may say who reports to whom, an informal unwritten "organizational chart" also exists indicating who has the real authority. Lawrence Cheek wrote in one of internet articles, Office politics - a taboo word for some people. It's a pervasive thing at the workplace. In its simplest form, office politics is simply about the differences between people at work; differences in opinions, conflicts of interests are often manifested as office politics. It all goes down to human communications and relationships.

There is no need to be afraid of office politics. Top performers are those who have mastered the art of winning in office politics.

I remember interviewing for a job many years back. The receptionist in the front lobby helped me to learn much about the hiring manager and other individuals who would be interviewing me. While waiting, I was nice to her and had a pleasant conversation. After I was hired, she was one of my best resources who helped me when in need and provided insight for all of the rumors running around the office. She was literally the center of the organization and helped me tie together a number of conflicting communications.

As a cautionary note, remember that in office politics, try not to get involved in rumors. Listen, keep your own counsel and remember what you have learned to yourself. You will in time find out the truth from fiction

Do Not Take Sides, Listen First

You may have inherited a staff. If there's one thing in life that I have learned is to listen to people and then do your best to response to their needs. The key is you ensure that you take the time to listen to what your direct reports have to say. They have at least some perspective of the history and core knowledge about the organization. Will you always agree with them? No! Not in all circumstances. This will come later as you get more familiar with the organization. How you lead and work with them can only be answered after you gain more information about the current culture and general process in place. On day 2 you are still too new to fully comprehend the complexities that may be present and are still finding your way around the organization.

You are still operating with an old "mental map", the one from the environment you just came from. You may be using the same language and terminology as your new staff, yet both you and they are interrupting the comments and context of the discussion very differently. To meld your and their mental maps and to have true learning, you are going to have to get into lengthy and open discussions with your direct reports. They may wary of what you intend to do based on any previous experiences.

Do not immediately start condemning the past or pick apart what you have hear. You will have time for making changes as you communicate your methods and work at getting buy-in and trust from the group. You must be some respect before suggesting major changes. Bear in mind what you were told in the initial hiring interview and what really has been happening may or may not be the same.

"Seek First to Understand"

As Stephen R. W. Covey states in his classic book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," "Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood." Covey warns that giving out advice before having emphatically understood a person and their situation will likely result in rejection of any immediate advice. While they may nod in agreement, the thought may be what do you know about what I've had to endure, clueless one?" Reading out your own autobiography will decrease the chance of establishing a working communication.

The reason people feel immediate criticism is unjustified is because they feel misunderstood. Per Covey, if we don't manage ourselves, we will be more interested in getting the others to understand us rather than to attempt to understand them first. The best people managers and business leaders have learned to suppress this urge and to truly listen first.

Surprisingly, seeking to understand is a very disarming technique. Once the other person knows that you really and sincerely understand where he/she is coming from, they will be less defensive and open to understanding you in return. This trust bond sets the stage for open communications to arrive at actions and combined efforts that both of you can accept. Trying to arrive at a solution without first having an understanding is very difficult - there's little trust, too much second-guessing and no buy-in acquiesce is not buy-in.

Think Win/Win

Stephen R. W. Covey continues with "Think Win/Win" describes an attitude whereby mutually beneficial solutions are sought that satisfies the needs of oneself, or, in the case of a conflict, both parties involved.

As mentioned, political conflicts happen because of conflicting interests in the organization. It is strongly entrenched in many cultures that to win, someone else needs to lose. Conversely, we are afraid to let someone else win, because it implies losing for us (loss of face, power, image, etc.). Sometimes we're are just stubborn and want to shove our ideas down other people throat. The best method is to develop a solid trusting rapport, present your ideas through questions, then plant seeds for improvement and let them grow over time.

Bear in mind, we are discussing the average issues of an organization - those dealing with relatively logical people who also want the best for themselves and the organization and in a non-crisis environment. If you find that you are dealing with immoral, illegal and/or harmful issues, you may have to take a stand and either find a way to correct the situation and/or leave the organization. If in a crisis, different more direct decision making is needed.

Learn To Think In Terms Of How Can We Both Win Out Of This Situation?

We realize that as the leader you have a responsibility to maintain and use your authority as warranted. Being a true leader requires that you first understand the other party's perspective, their concerns and desires or needs. You must have a clear understanding of what it is you are trying or required to accomplish. Then you can seek out a solution that is acceptable and beneficial for everyone. Using this approach will have a higher potential to ensure that everyone is truly committed to the agreed upon solution and are not just paying lip-service to the issue at hand.

I was listening to talk radio the other morning when I heard Michael Steel, guest host on Bill Bennett's Morning in American say it best, "Pick your Battles.

You may get away with win-lose tactics once or twice, but very soon, you will find yourself without allies in the workplace. Thinking win-win is an enduring strategy that builds allies and helps you gain trust and support in the long term.

No one Wants to Lose.

As Lawrence Cheok further discussed in his article on office politics, it is possible to find yourself stuck in between two power figures that are at odds with each other. You find yourself being thrown around while they try to outwit each other and defend their own position. All at the expense of you getting the job done. You can not get them to agree on a common decision, and neither of them wants to take ownership of issues. Each is afraid that they will get stabbed in the back for any perceived failures.

Cheok continues to state that "By not taking sides, you will help to direct conflict resolution in an objective manner. You will also build trust. That trust will help you to keep the conversation constructive and focus on business objectives."

Office History

It's not just the personalities and politics you have to get a handle on. You must at the same time be locating and reviewing the all of files and reference materials left by your predecessor.

You have got to as quickly as possible get a feel for what the history of the office has been. You may have to retrieve files from storage, go through piles of files, and sort through the debris of an area left vacant. Files could be anywhere and in any shape depending on how new or how long the position has been open. Or how good a record keeper your predecessor was. We have helped setup offices on a number of occasions. A form of entropy or chaos theory or something takes hold and things, in which files, materials and larger items including furniture seem to evaporate. Office files seem to implode into random piles. Nathan recounts that during one project, he and his client used a hand truck and a large box and literally went around the office and facility retrieving bits and pieces of programs. Another time, Nathan remembers inheriting an office that had an empty bookcase, 6 months of subscriptions to a weekly safety newsletter (about a three foot stack) and a file cabinet that had no rhyme or reason for the order folders were piled! I can still remember when I was first promoted as safety professional. The gentleman who allegedly trained me, left me an office full of old Federal Registers to read and decipher, and book cabinets full of stuff, just stuff. What a mess!

Develop a Filing Process

One method you should learn and use regularly is the 5S Process. This process is found in Six Sigma and provides a road map of organization that will guide you in the cleanup of your office, if that area currently has limited or no organization. You should ask if the company already has a procedure established regards the setup and maintaining of files, both hard copy and electronic. You should review as quickly as possible all files for condition, logical organization, completeness, and consistency. Is the company's protocol for hard copy and electronic files being followed? If no process is in place, define your own structure. The filing procedures should be used with references, books, and other materials needed for you to effectively complete your mission. Two excellent books on the topic of that can provide you insight on filing and paper management are "File, Don't Pile" by Pat Dorff and "Taming the Paper Tiger" by Barbara Hemphill. Take the time to peruse through the business book section in a good bookstore for other text and references on the topic of office organizing.

Day 2 Summary

Begin an in-depth dialog with key personnel and your staff look for areas of need, ways to gain rapport, find mutual ways to define mission success and win-win situations.

Begin organizing and cleaning up your assigned office and areas. If you aren't organized, how can you ask others to keep & a professional image.

James Roughton is an experienced Safety Professional and mentor to others on the art of safety management and injury reduction. He has the following background, 40 years in the manufacturing, construction, and consulting industry with 30 years in the safety field. He holds a BS in Management and a Masters Degree in Safety and has the following certifications: CSP, CRSP, CHMM, CET, CIT, and Certified 6 Sigma Black Belt. In addition, he is an independent contributor, thinker, and innovator who is interested in may things. In recent years he has broken out of the mold of being just a Safety Professional by reaching out to others, both inside and outside of the profession, to share his various interests of safety management, developing websites, social networking, and the like. If you would like to learn more about safety and others areas of interest please visit my web sites.