PREVIOUS : Positive BIZ Politics (#1)

SITE : “Effect of Organizational Politics on Organizational Goals & Objectives” (article from Adekunle Ajasin U, Nigeria)

POSITIVE Organizational Politics (orgP) for Leaders / Managers

√ Analyze the Organization Chart
Office politics often circumvent the formal organizational structure. Map the political power & influence in your organization rather than people’s rank or job title.
ASK: “Who are the real influencers?, Who has authority but tends not to exercise it?, Who is respected?, Who champions or mentors others?, Who is the brains behind the business?”

Appeal to motivations
Organizations want the best talents, investing immense resources to hire, retain & grow their people.
Yet in spite of available perks, many people still choose to leave. The reason is having to deal with bad office politicians who ‘rule’ through fear with criticism, threats or exclusion.

Everyone wants to feel that what we do makes a difference, that we’re contributing to something larger than ourselves, that our skills & talents matter.
So – positive office politics focuses on giving people the opportunity to showcase acquired skills & natural talents.
Find what motivates individuals & use that to inspire action toward company goals. Regularly providing public recognition goes a long way as a powerful motivator.

√ Be Brave – but Not Naive
It’s not smart to keep your distance from people who practice “bad” politics. The expression, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” works best. Be courteous but guarded, stay alert to undercurrents, & don’t shy away from conflicts.
Protect yourself as much as possible from anyone you suspect of Dark Triad characteristic – they’re clever & dangerous. Understand their goals so you can avoid or counter the impact of their negative politicking.

√ Build Your Own Connections
Reach across formal hierarchy in all directions – co-workers, managers & executive, & don’t be afraid of politically powerful people. Instead, get to know them & build high-quality connections that avoid empty flattery. Be friendly with everyone, but avoid aligning too closely with one group or another.

√ Develop “People Skills”
Notice your emotions, what prompts them, & learn how you handle them (self-regulate) so you can think before you act. Learn to listen carefully. Your emotional intelligence also helps to pick up on other people’s emotions, & so you understand what kind of approach they respond to best or least.

√ Look for win-wins
Harmful ‘office politicians’ consider the system a zero-sum game. Gathering support for their project comes at the expense of employees, so looking good to their boss can only happen when others look bad.

However, the best players go for win-wins. They bring together resources that can add unexpected value for all parties. Managers know that working effectively as a team not only makes them look better at the moment, but also puts them in a good position when things change. Staying constructive, solutions-oriented & collaborative is a powerful way to succeed

√ Make the Most of Your Network
Share your achievements, which can act as a “bridge” between you & colleagues, to create opportunities to shine – for you & your team
Also, be accountable for your actions, to indicate your integrity. Asking for feedback is a good way to find out what’s most important to people in your network, & shows that you value their opinions.

√ Neutralize Negative Politics
Don’t add fuel to the fire – avoid passing on rumors. When voicing concerns or criticism, be confident & assertive but not aggressive. Stay professional at all times – not taking sides, or getting sucked into arguments or recriminations.

√ Play with the players
Everyone has some insecurities, but people who play negative office politics have bigger insecurities. Identify what these workers want to achieve, a skilled manager will be better able to create a win-win situation for those employees, & will also help themselves move their career forward.

And when it comes to higher-ups, the No.1 rule is: Never make your ‘superiors’ look bad. To create an ally of a boss, come up with win-win situations – sharing useful ideas, enlisting others & becoming known as a force for good.

√ Understand Informal Networks
Examine people’s interactions & relationships. Find out who gets along with whom, & who finds it harder. Look for in-groups, out-groups or cliques, deciphering how influence flows between or among them, & whether there are any interpersonal conflicts, such as signs of bullying

√ Work cross-functionally – Ditch cliques
Belonging to the office ‘in group’ may gives people a sense of belonging, but it often turns into gossip fests, & marginalizing the less ‘cool’.
Managers who work across teams & roles of all types will benefit by making personal connections, building their reputation & minimizing groupthink, which can encourage creative solutions, and build supporters for their own ideas & goals..

NEXT : POSITIVE BIZ Politics (Part 2)

PREVIOUS : Organizational Politics – Effects (#2)

SITE : “Workplace Politics” (Wikipedia) Topics: Aims, Issues, Games, Gossip, Manipulation

POSITIVE orgP  – When a company is ethically well–balanced.it gains a competitive business advantage.  It can successfully be used to: serve the organization’s vision & objectives, develop teamwork & confidence, evade negative games, portray a professional image & publicize one’s accomplishments.

When leaders are political skillful they can successfully manage work areas that are under stress – by encouraging feelings of trust, confidence & sincerity in interpersonal relationships – to minimize injustice, unfairness & inequity. This can increase efficiency & expedite positive changes, benefiting both the organization & its members.  (MORE….)

NEXT : POSITIVE  BIZ P. (#2)

PREVIOUS:
Organizational Politics – TYPES (#3a)

SITE: Office Politics ARCHETYPES

NEGATIVES TYPES (cont)

☛ Nit-picker
This is a form of being a Control-freak – always finding fault with work an employee has been assigned to do, never satisfied. Or the one who starts doing your job for you, or telling you how to do your job, especially when they’re less senior. Because of their own insecurities, they purposely hold others back so no-one will become “as good as them.”

☛ Power Aligner
Attaching themselves with those who already have power, they take on the same values & goals as the boss &/or of the company, then champion them as if they were their own. They look at what the culture wants & promotes, then reflects it back to them. These people are strategically smarter than suck-ups – taking a social approach & thus having somewhat more power.

EXP: being the first one to report any issue that might affect the boss, push others down to make themselves look better by comparison, making the case in a team meeting with your boss that a customer was abusive, acting as if they’re the boss or presenting themselves as representing the company….  For effective ways of tackling them, check out Social Power, the section on workplace power.

☛ Saboteur
They work only to benefit themself. A grown-up version of the playground bully, saboteurs openly & consistently criticize & backstab other team members, rarely if ever taking responsibility for their own faults & mistakes. But they may back down when confronted.

Still, it’s important to keep your guard up when dealing with a saboteur. If confronting them doesn’t work, keep a detailed log of the interactions on a calendar or planner, in an emotionally neutral language when possible, & relay them to your boss or someone in Human Resources.

☛ Stickler For The Rules
They stake their claim to power with laws, regulations, & SOPs. They’re hot for office power & social status, but their rule is limited. They’re not the movers & shakers who make things happen, not being focused on improving the organization. Instead – they see the company as a big org chart where only official authority lines matter.

They can be very assertive, even looking confident & in control. But a boss has official authority over them, they ‘ll comply. If not, they love telling a co-worker where to get off.
On paper, they say they’re following procedures & making sure everyone’s on the right side of the law. But actually, they’re just piggybacking on to the rules for their own personal power.

☛ Shunner
More often payed by women, the shunning game is the office politics equivalent of stonewalling and gaslighting in intimate relationships. They usually gang up on people who they feel threatened by, but who are (still) weak enough to be victimized. They form a clique to socially exclude the target of their machinations, so marginalizing the target by being curt, detached, or ignoring them altogether

☛ Sociopath
These people follow the Pareto rule : FOCUS is 80% on office politics & 20% on actual work. Given how successful some of them are, we might even wonder what’s more important… They see the workplace as a big chessboard, considering themselves superior to everyone else & deserving of top management positions. With little or no empathy for others, it’s easy for them to manipulate & move people around as if they were inanimate objects.

☛ Tasker
The underlying power dynamic of tasking is: Those who assign tasks look like bosses, & those who execute look like subordinates. The habitually will say “Can you please do this — for me? Thank you” without ever considering the employee’s availability or consent.
This rule is only ‘legitimate’ if the assigner is the actual boss. Played by peer-employees (control freaks) – by telling others what to do, they position themselves above others, pushing everyone else down in the process.

☛ User
These people are really good at constantly asking others for advice & help, being the charming version of Victim. They act bumbling, insecure, & confused, but actually are conning others into doing their mental work for them, so the don’t have to put themselves out to learn the ropes of their job.

☛ Vanity Player
They believe (think) they’re very good, & want others to acknowledge them for it. Psychological addicts, their drug of choice is emotional validation – from others. While some may be NPDs, they’re mainly a combo of Histrionic PD , Low self-esteem & Entitlement mentality

EXP: Someone who demands “due respect” from people who don’t respect them much, attracts far more attention than they’re actual worth….
They’ll go to great lengths to get their fix, so when they don’t, throw tantrums & create office drama, making waves that prevent successful office functioning.

NEXT : Positive Business Politics

PREVIOUS: POSITIVE Business Politics (Part 3)

⬆️ 12 Types to Avoid – read explanations

NEGATIVES TYPES – create tension, inhibit employees’ ability to perform well, harming teams & employee morale. Most business with a staff can end up hiring one or more of these office politics personalities. If their skills are crucial to the operation, it will take a clever boss to cope with the harmful ones successfully.

☛ Credit thief
They will do whatever it takes to get ahead, such as stealing ideas from co-workers or passing other people’s work as their own.
To counter their false claims or avoid being their victim, boldly & often speak up – sharing your own ideas in front of colleagues in team meetings. Also, provide your boss with regular updates on your progress so they’ll never be confused about who should get credit for your work.
If talking in public is hard for you, check out team-building as an introvert.

☛ Flatterer / Fawner
They compulsively pass out compliments left and right, trying to win everyone over, especially those in authority. Besides pretty words, it may show up assaying co-workers by asking co-workers for help and ideas – but with little reciprocation if any.

They’re rarely very ambitious or highly driven, more likely motivated by fear & the search for security, wanting the boss to be their protector. But hard-core suck-ups are dependent on poor leaders, latching onto very successful narcissists who want to have yes-men around them.
If you’re not a sucker for flattery, you’ll recognize they’re not being real, so they can just be ignored.

☛ Gossip hound
These people are the know-it-alls about what’s happening around the office, & aren’t afraid to share every last detail with anyone who’ll listen. They love spilling secrets to co-workers or sharing confidential info on social media. They’re short on discretion, boundaries & respect for other’s privacy.

Around gossip hound, conversations must stay focused strictly on business plans, decisions & progress.  If the talk starts to drift to someone’s personal life, remove away quickly.

☛ Grumpy Players
They operate on the assumption that the fewer people who can task them, the more office status they gather.  Their office politics is played very defensively, protecting their desk-turf from encroachment & keeping as much of their time for themselves as possible. The 2 main types are the:
‣ Aggressives – the colleague who scare off others by always being on the verge of exploding &/or yelling at others
‣ Passive-aggressives – who are just protecting their “me” time, or trying to defend against very aggressive taskers but have no idea how to do it assertively.

☛ Lobbyist
This person is closest to the power centers at work. They campaign hard, aligning themselves with influence groups to sway opinions in their favor – to accomplish their specific goals.
A more intense version is the Office Crusader. The lobbyist could take lessons from these crusader types. They push even harder to get others on their side of just about any issue, often swaying opinions by attrition. While neither type appreciates hearing differing opinions, others need to explain dissenting viewpoints to – hopefully – open them to new ideas.

☛ Office joker
At first glance, these co-workers seem to get along with everyone, making light of everything. With some people, kidding around & laughing may be a genuine attempt
to relieve tension, but the constant joker has an ulterior motive.

Especially if they’re mainly ‘cute or clever’ around supervisors, it’s safe to assume they’re being manipulative. They’re trying to build connections with higher ups to get preferential treatment, or possibly damage others’ reputations to advance their own career by making jokes at the expense of co-workers.  They’re not actually funny, so stay clear & let the boss deal with with them

☛ Overachiever
Usually they’re high on personal drive & low on empathy. And whatever empathy they have gets trampled by their ambition, which is stronger than any consideration for others.
• Nurtured ones grew up in families with high expectations., & so feel pressured to perform & are more likely to be burn-out candidates.
• Inborn ones do it for themselves. Those who “enjoy their own drive” don’t get nearly as stressed out.

Overachiever types:
⚛︎ Dr. Jekylls – they can be nice on their own or when nothing is at stake, but turn into monsters around bosses, upper management or any opportunity to “shine”
⚛︎ 24/7s  – always “on”, they’re forever pursuing power-opportunities. You can’t be their friend, & they’re often lonely
⚛︎ Socially skilled – they’re the most dangerous – putting on a face of fairness & caring, but take any opportunity to ‘stab you in the back’ or ‘throw you under the bus’. It takes high emotional intelligence to sniff them out early

NEXT : orgP – TYPES (#3b)

PREVIOUS:
Causes of Organizational Politics (#1) 

Three Types of Political Power
🌗 Amoral   – Used by a leader to ‘automatically’ manipulate others, with no conscious awareness of their own motivating fears & desires

🌚 Immoral – Used by a leader who consciously understands how to influence others, yet without any self- awareness of what drives them to act.
🔻Because they deliberately, knowingly manipulates others, they carry a greater moral responsibility for the results.

🌕 Moral  – Used by a leader who consciously examines, evaluates & understands their own motivation, fears & desires – before using their knowledge of others in order to influence them. (MORE….)

2. EFFECTS of Organizational Politics (orgP)

√ It creates a negative work environment
It’s well known that most uses of orgP harm office environments, with a direct negative impact on employee efficiency . OrgP spoils the relationship between employees, so people who indulge in this tactic are generally disliked by others.

√ It increases stress
Because orgP insures an atmosphere of distrust & work insecurity, workers are afraid to openly air legitimate concerns in the work environment or about how the company is being run – causing anxiety

√ It de-motivates employees
Every day employees have o deal with intolerable situations to them, such as seeing a lazy or incompetent co-worker getting the “Best” award just because they’re close to the senior manager & have taken credit for someone else’s work – using orgP

√ It decreased productivity levels
People engrossed in orgP pay less attention to work & more on gossip, rumors, incessant talks and underhand activities. Their time is used to tease, back-bite & criticize their co-workers – so that office work & projects have less  importance & personal preference.

As a result, these employees have a negative impact on the overall productivity of the organization by not reaching company targets within the required time, their work being delayed or postponed.

√ It impacts employee attitude
The most critical effect of orgP is the impact of negative emotion on employee attitudes. They lose interest in & commitment to their work because they feel their efforts are not being recognized. They end up coming to the office just for the paycheck & form habit.

√ It lowers levels of concentration
Employees engrossed in orgP find it hard to concentrate on work. They’re more interested in dragging others down & spoiling someone’s image than their own projects. Such people become over-confident about their abilities, so tend to make mistakes as their focus is on non-work-related games.

√ It promoted bad information
A basic effect of orgP is that wrong information is passed from one person to another – because manipulation is one of its characteristics. Managers and supervisors are told edited versions of ‘reality’, so their perception of what’s happenings in the workplace tends to be quite different from reality.
EXP:  A deserving employee is left without a voice, while an undeserving one gets away with acknowledgement, even rewards.

MYTHS re. Work Politics
1.  You can either be a good person, or you can play politics
UNTRUE : inter-office politics can be used ethically to help reach goals.

2. You can escape office politics
UNTRUE : all humans use informal, unofficial, sometimes behind-the-scenes efforts – in every part of life – to position themselves, their interests & their priorities.

3. Politics don’t affect your career
UNTRUE : it benefits you to talk about your accomplishments, highlighting the positive impact you’re having on the organization & why that matters.

4. Politics disappear in virtual environment
UNTRUE : most humans are driven by informal & political interactions rather than by the formal & prescribed.

5. Political intelligence is an inherent trait
UNTRUE : while some people are naturally better at orgP than others – it’s a skills that can be learned, & needs to be practiced to be mastered. (MORE…)

Reframe what “politics” means to you : Do you –
– suck up or focus on building & understanding new relationships?
– get resentful & irritated that you need to have several smaller meetings before a big one, or recognize the power of being prepared, laying the groundwork to give your ideas the best chance of success?
– view informal conversations as lobbying (with all the negative connotations it can carry) or do you see them as doing important homework? (MORE….)

NEXT : POSITIVE orgP

PREVIOUS:  4 Types of BIZ Politics (#1)

SITE: Workplace Politics (en.Wikipedia)

🌐 ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS (orgP) is inevitable
Most employees want to climb the ladder of success, but since ladders are narrow & steep, only a few can move up, & slowly. Having to compete for limited resources (a better position) makes orgP irresistible.
Some people have more power & authority than others, often indulging in orgP – because they can. And some are politically savvy, using it to get their way.
EXP : orgP is a common tool to remove others from the rung below to eliminate competition.

1. Negative / Weak USES of Organizational Politics
√ Blame game
Leaders & employees will complain about the company & criticize others using orgP as power plays, because people generally ignore or deny their own shortcomings, shifting the blame on to others

√ Can’t adjust to change
Change is a part of any org, so employees need to accept the fact & deal with it. But some have emotional trouble adjusting, or like the way things are for themselves. Changes can lead to some workers benefitting while others will lose out is some way. Those on the losing side may lash out with underhanded & indirect actions – to undermine those who willingly & happily accepted the new agenda.

√ Changes in upper levels
Getting ahead by hook or by crook is orgP at its worst. When there’s a new boss or manager, some employees get busy trying to score brownie points. After a while, it can become less about positioning themselves as the ‘best’, & more about demeaning, bad-mouthing & questioning abilities of the one who’s been promoted, to undermine their authority.

√ Don’t want to work hard
Some people want everything that life has to offer – without making an effort to achieve those benefits by hard work. They’re always looking for short-cuts to be in the limelight – unjustly, & orgP is a tool to create a negative image of the people they think are hogging the rungs of the corporate ladder.

√ Gossiping
A virulent reasons for office politics is the habit of many employees to include unnecessary, inappropriate or harmful chatter about co-workers & management, used as ‘social currency’ or an indirect way to get back at someone disliked.

√ Jealousy
Jealousy can creep in between co-workers if someone is smarter, & especially if their efforts are appreciated by the top brass. Not wanting a colleague to get more attention & rewards, the insecure will use orgP tactics to tarnish the ’favorite’s’ image & reputation.

√ Lack of clarity
Unclear leadership roles, guidelines & goals in an org. can lead to unfounded accusations of management, & encourages rumor mills to run amok. These are often based on assumptions & perceptions instead of facts, leading to orgP.

√ Manipulation
If an employee wants to mislead his superior they’ll try to manipulate them by passing along abreviated or totally false  information, with the help of orgP.

√ Personal relationships
Using Personal Relationships as leverage to get what a person wants – has no place in a professional environment.
When a boss supports the need or idea of a colleague or subordinate because of friendship (a use of orgP) – instead of what’s best for the company – they can cause harm to the whole.

√ Promotions are rare
When several employees are vying for a specific position, some will inevitably revert to orgP. Ambitious workers can become aggressive, & in their zeal to reach the coveted post they start spreading suspicion & rumors about potential rivals. This perpetuates a climate of mistrust, limiting the health of the org.

√ Reward system
Most businesses have reward systems to encourage employees to give their best. Sometimes this backfires, becoming a trigger for orgP. if everyone wants to grab the so-called rewards.
This can lead to unhealthy competition, so that employees start sabotaging their colleagues’ work – in their obsession to outdo others.

√ Struggle for power
When someone moves up the corporate ladder, opportunities for others to do so will lessen, so they may put in extra effort to prove themselves & stand out. Those who ambitiously struggle for power – but lack confidence – will start acting superior at the expense of others, using negative orgP activities.

NEXT : RESULTS of orgP (#2)

PREVIOUS : 4 Quadrants (#1)

SITE : 8-Step Process for Leading Change

POLITICAL LANDSCAPES (cont)
Summary :
☛ The Weeds – where personal influence & informal networks rule
☛ The Rocks – where power rests on individual interactions & formal sources of authority
☛ The High ground – which combines formal authority & organizational systems
☛ The Woods – the organization’s implicit norms, hidden assumptions & unspoken routines. 

The HIGH GROUND – Organizational, formal
This category of political terrain is about the rules, structures, policy guidelines & procedures that form the basis of political activities. They benefit by providing a check against the whims of individual charismatic or autocratic individuals – which provides guide rails for the Rocks.

This isn’t the “moral high ground,” although it’s useful for legal & ethical reasons. Rather, it’s a functional political process of control systems, incentives & sanctions that keep the organization on track.

However, rules & procedures can make a company overly ‘bureaucratic’, used as a political device to stifle anti-establishment ideas, preventing needed reforms & improvements.
In contrast, creating a ‘working space’ outside or along side of habitual norms & routines is vital for innovation & growth.

If a company finds itself stranded on a too rigid High Ground, then feedback from clients, customers or end-users can highlight difficulties which point out how the current structure of doing business is hampering it.
Since organizations with a dysfunctional High Ground tend to be risk-averse, savvy leadership must emphasize that -not changing- can be even riskier than trying something new.

EXP : A public agency was hampered in stopping potential fraud because of slow-moving processes & formalized steps. It meant that millions in tax revenues were not collected at the end of the year.
Actions: Senior leaders set up a dedicated task force outside the formal organizational structure to solve the issue.
Results: After the first year, the problem had been reduced by over 50%, reaching a 95% recovery rate by the second year. The organization then changed its official processes to match the improved methods.

The WOODS – Organizational, informal
Organizations also have implicit norms, hidden assumptions & unspoken routines. These informal guidelines & procedures can provide cover & safety for individuals, or be a bewildering place where good ideas & necessary changes get lost.

Strongly implicit norms define what’s socially acceptable & unacceptable in the organization, so they’re never even questioned.
EXP: One study identified the unspoken ‘normalization’ of unacceptable emotions, & so remained marginalized or ignored.
Other studies listed industries where “emotional norms” specifically dictate how workers are to behave & respond to their tasks, such as the ever-smiling flight attendant, or the ‘good cop / bad cop’ routine for bill-collecting.

Some organizations get lost in their Woods.
EXP: A large telecom company in the middle of a restructuring exercise needed deep cuts to bring it through a debt crisis caused by falling revenues. The Senior Director who developed a plan to save the company – never once discussed the necessary job cuts with the board – because the ‘idea’ of cuts was not to be spoken aloud.

The Woods challenge is such cases is to bring implicit rules out into the open. Fresh eyes will often identify things the locals miss (“Does a fish know it’s wet?”)
‘Dumb questions’ can be asked of clients, recent hires or temporary contractors about their observations & experience with the company. Benchmark information from surveys & specialist / experts can also bring hidden organizational assumptions & behaviors to the surface.

Once the implicit assumptions are visible, employee teams can be asked to consider whether they’re helping or hindering the company. EXP: A consulting firm, working with a newly merged, international telecoms company, conducted a simple exercise : each of the two entities were asked to describe their own cultural norms & those of the other party. It quickly generated truths & myths that could then be discussed & used to iron out any blockages to operational success, as they rolled out their distribution & cable network – the key to capturing subscribers.

FROM: Michael Jarrett Senior Affiliate Professor at INSEAD. 

PREVIOUS : Bargains with FATE, #2

INTRO : Most organizational maps⬅️ are include 4 metaphoric domains,(conceptual frameworks), each with a different set of rules required for skillful navigation. ⬇️

DEF: Organizational politics refers to a variety of activities connected to the tactics used to influence or improve personal or organizational (org) interests. Political behavior allows differences to be shared & methods to be used in strategies that go beyond the rules / norms of the company.

Studies have shown that leaders with political skills tend to out-perform their politically naive counterparts.

🌵 The WEEDS – Individual, Informal
This quadrant is governed by personal influence & informal networks, a dynamic** that grows naturally, without maintenance, & can be a positive benefit to the org.
**dynamics : forces which produce power or movement

Alternatively, the Weeds may form into a dense mat through which nothing else grows. Informal networks can oppose legitimate power & the long-term interests of the co. Such leaders become a source of resistance to change, which influences their colleagues & peers
to do the same. This can prevent putting the org. on a sounder long-term financial footing.

EXP: At one not-for-profit org., their Secretary General was seriously under-performing & sometimes even being unethical. This causing staff to worry they’d lose support of key donors & government officials.
So, an informal group regularly met to cover up his abuses. However, since the problem was too big, within a year the same group helped ease him out, to protect the org’s reputation.

To deal with the Weeds, a leader needs to get involved enough in day-to-day office milieu to understand the informal networks at play. They must identify the key players & any gaps in communication, & possibly ally themselves with them when reasonable.
If the power-group is doing more harm than good, the leader can try to isolate them by developing a counter-narrative**, or by filling in the information gaps & strengthen connections with other networks. (More….)
** counter-narrative is an argument that disputes a commonly held belief or truth, & can give a voice to workers in an org. who otherwise would not have one.

Options for progress:
a. Sometimes a manager or leader needs to exert a lot of pressure on a team to get something done, by using their ‘Positional Power‘.
b. In other cases it may be necessary for employees to form a coalition that works behind the scenes to develop a new procedure or vision.

🪨 The ROCKS – Individual, Formal
This type of Power rests on individual interactions & the use of formal (‘hard’) authority. It can also include political capital which comes from membership in -or- strong ties to a high-status group (finance committee, a special task force, senior management….)

Supportive ‘Rocks’ can make awesome sponsors for organizational growth, & therefore represent a stabilizing force that keeps a business on a strong foundation in times of crisis.

However, the sharp edges of ‘hard power’ can also wreck a plan – when used to satisfy self-interest over the firm’s longer-term value.
EXP: A mid-sized advertising agency was trying to implementing a new growth strategy. The chairman used abusive power to stop the changes.
— He constantly questioned decisions agreed to by the management team
— changed his mind from one meeting to the next
— stoped agreeing to allocate resources for new structures, &
— removed people from the special task forces without notification.

NEXT : 4 Types of BIZ Politics (#2)

PREVIOUS : Games PEOPLE PLAY

↘️ Chart OUTLINE from BOOK
“Bargains with Fate : Psychological Crises & Conflicts in Shakespeare’s Plays”
– Bernard J. Paris & Theodore I. Rubin (2009)

Expanded info on 3 broad categories of DEFENSES
— Self-effacing / Compliant
— Aggressive / Expansive
— Detached / Resigned

PREVIOUS : “4 Games People Play”

SITE : “The SELF” 

⬅️ “Bargains with Fate : Psychological Crises & Conflicts in Shakespeare’s Plays”

– Bernard J. Paris & Theodore I. Rubin (2009)

In this work, Bernard J. Paris, an eminent Shakespearean scholar, shows how Shakespeare endowed his tragic heroes with familiar inner conflicts & enduring human qualities that make them relevant to people of any era.
Paris uses a psychoanalytic approach inspired by Karen Horney’s theories to analyze 4 major personality types, representative of the Bard’s other works. The author’s combination of literary & psychoanalytic perspectives provides a deeper understanding of human behavior.

The PROBLEM : Shakespeare’s characters are in a state of crisis because their Bargains with Fate have failed – the false belief that they can (magically) control their destinies by living up to the ‘rules’ of their defensive strategies.

FROM Dr. Paris Into (pgs 15 – 32)  The most familiar type of Bargaining is for a person to promise to reform their behavior when they’ve gotten themself in trouble (after the fact), &/or to perform some act of contrition  / self-restriction, to prevent punishment from the ‘powers that be’

“….but this type of Bargains-with-Fate are those in which we believe we can control fate by living up to its presumed dictates – not after it grants our wishes – but before. If we think, feel & behave the way we are supposed to – we will receive our just deserts, whatever we may think they are. Fate is often conceived of as God, but our bargains can be with ourselves, other people, or impersonal forces in the universe as we see it.

The terms of the bargains are not really determined by external forces, but dictated by our own defensive strategies. Bargaining is primarily a magical process conforming to impossible lofty demands of whichever neurotic defense we choose (Horney called “private religion”) that will enable us to attain those impossible lofty goals.” (MORE ….. ‘inside’)

Unfortunately for this kind of bargainer – sooner or later their ‘deal’ always crashes & burns, causing great suffering. Yet many people refuse to give up the fantasy wishes & hopes of the Idealized Self (I.S) & live in perpetual disappointment.

DEFENSE MECHANISMS
a. used to deal with feelings of fear, isolation, helplessness, hostility, powerlessness….
b. used against both deep insecurity & vague anxiety

TOXIC SOLUTIONS
1. Self-effacing / Compliant
2. Aggressive / Expansive :
– a. Narcissist
– b. Perfectionist
– c. Vindictive
3. Detached / Resigned
(full CHART in Part 2)

⬇️  OUTLINE re. the 4 CHARACTERS (pgs 35-177)

HAMLET (H)
▫️H & the Ghost / ▫️H’s conflicts in Act 2
▫️H’s Problem: “This too too solid flesh”
▫️H’s Conflicts : “To be or not to Be” /  “Get thee to a nunnery” /
“Yet have I in me something dangerous”
▫️The closet scene /  ▫️ More Oscillations
▫️In the hands of providence / ▫️ Wish-fulfillment end

OTHELLO
▫️Iago’s character / ▫️ Iago’s crisis
▫️Psychological Functions of Iago’s Plot
▫️Othello’s Triumph / ▫️ Othello’s Vulnerability
▫️Othello’s Transformation / ▫️ An Honorable murder?
▫️ Bewitched Desdemona : “The Inclining Desdemona”
/ “His scorn I approve” /  “Who hath done this deed?”

KING LEAR
▫️The Love test  / ▫️ Cordelia’s Compulsiveness
▫️Collapse of Lear’s Fantasy / ▫️To Plainness Honor Bound
▫️Rhetoric vs. Mimesis  / ▫️ Blows & Defenses
▫️”In such a night as this!” / ▫️Unaccommodated Man”
▫️Lear & “Poor Tom” / ▫️”Let Copulation Thrive
▫️Paradise Regained  / ▫️ Spiritual rebirth?
▫️”All Cheerless, Dark & Deadly”
▫️Death of Cordelia / Conclusion

MACBETH (M)
▫️M’s Inner conflicts – before the murder
▫️Macbeth & Lady Macbeth
▫️M’s Inner conflicts – after the murder
▫️The murder of Banquo / ▫️M’s Transformation
▫️The villain as Hero / ▫️ The Death of Macbeth

NEXT: POWER – 4 Types of BIZ Politics (#1)