(33) Political Savvy

Title: Political Savvy: Systematic Approaches to Leadership Behind the Scenes by Joel R. DeLuca, PhD
Publisher: Everygreen Business Group
250 Pages
Genre: Business

Synopsis: While most people are wary or organization politics, politically savvy leaders know how to manage them. They take initiative, and they forge consensus. Ultimately, they help others maximize their impact, so the organization can continue to thrive in a highly competitive future.

Inspirational leadership without a firm grounding in organization politics risks becoming hollow rhetoric. Political Savvy discusses how successful leaders at all levels in the organization operate ethically behind-the-scenes to work the darker side of organizational life.

The book helps you analyze your own political style, (yes, everyone has one) and understand the strategies and tactics used by ethical leaders. Through quotes, grids, tools, a case study, mapping techniques and examples, the book provides a systematic, practical guide to navigating political minefields so you can increase your influence in the organization, coach others, and obtain the career success, satisfaction, and meaning you want from work.

Review: As much as we'd like to think we can escape politics at work we can't.  Its human nature. So what can you do? Well you can sit with your head in the sand and say you don't want to play, sit back and watch the game and be a commentator, jump into the fray and defeat your enemies any way possible or jump into the fray and do the best you can in the most ethical way possible.

If the last description is the one you are interested in doing then pick up this book.  It describes the different styles of leaderships in companies, how to utilize influence to achieve your goal and do it in a way that doesn't throw someone else under the bus.  It gives great insight into how to spot the most powerful players in your organization (you may be surprised that its not always the people at the top) and how to utilize that knowledge for the best of the company.  Political savvy isn't about doing the best for you and only you its about doing the best for the company and hopefully you get rewarded along with it.

This is an easy to read and easy to understand book with some great ideas. I will be forever grateful that I had to read it for a graduate class on ethics.