The last role I held at Walt Disney World before I left to start my own consulting firm was as the senior manager for Operations Integration. My job was to ensure that the senior executives from the theme parks, resorts, lines of business and support organizations worked together effectively and were on the same page, and that large-scale initiatives were implemented effectively across organizational boundaries. When my team and I were brainstorming a logo for our department, we jokingly decided we would design the “O” in Operations Integration to resemble a large bull’s eye, because of the amount of corporate politics we had to manage and mitigate. It felt like a miracle when we got anything accomplished while balancing competing organizational priorities and the ego needs of high-level executives.

I, like most executives, began to develop a deep hatred for corporate politics that slowed me down, because it was time-consuming and emotionally draining.

But then I started to see the results of a large-scale initiative that I led to revamp Walt Disney World’s approach to guest service and leadership excellence. The project started out as a request from the senior vice president of Operations and, by the time it was implemented, it had the fingerprints of all the executives in operations and the buy-in of the support organizations. It was owned and received well. And I know for certain that without the contribution of each leader I worked with, the quality of the results would have been less.

Now, I love corporate politics --- and you can learn to love it, too!

Five reasons you should love corporate politics

1. Politics is nothing more than an informal, unwritten way of getting things done in an organization. Politics is and will always be a part of an organization, because people are involved. The more people there are, the greater the politics.
2. Politics provides checks and balances. There are reasons for competing priorities in a company. The slow deliberation found in the finance organization helps to balance the urgency exhibited by the sales organization. The in-depth studies of “people implications” done in human resources helps to balance the need for personnel in operations to get projects done, “now.”
3. Politics can leverage the unique talents of different leaders so that the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. When I consider the guest service project I led, I can point to Jim’s ability to name the project creatively, Beth’s ability to connect the cast and guest experiences, and Joni’s analytical side that gave us the data we needed to make appropriate decisions.
4. Politics ensures there will be more reflection on a course of action up front, which can save time and dollars down the road. For example, when the creative arm of Disney started to work more closely with the operations team, thousands of dollars were saved that had in the past been spent on correcting mistakes.
5. Politics is the best way to express and develop the effective use of power in leaders and organizations. Politics reveals power – who has it and who doesn’t, and how power is used. The word “power” itself can conjure up negative connotations. But effective use of power can be….well, powerful.

Types of Power and Politics

Executives lead in three directions – upward, downward and horizontally. How leadership is played out is based on assumptions and perspectives about power. There are two kinds of power: Power Over and Personal Power.

	Power Over	Personal Power
Definition	Control and dominance	Mutuality and cooperation
Key Beliefs	There are winners and losers.	Life is more about promoting growth and well-being in oneself and others.
Source of power	Outside self – positions, titles, budget, etc.	Inside self – wisdom and self-esteem, humility.
Use of Power	Control…through having more if it than others, buck stopping somewhere; possible use of force, discipline, persistence, non-emotional responses, regulation, and comparison against standards.	Contribution…through offering of oneself and one’s gifts; finding places of commonality and mutual support of goals and interests.
How it plays out – upward	Relates to boss in an “under” position. Struggles with feelings of powerlessness. May unquestioningly support directives, even if they do not make sense.	Relates to boss from a position of equality. Seeks to understand boss’ perspective while maintaining his or her own.
How it plays out – downward	Sees direct reports as extension of oneself. Expects compliance to directives. Discourages real conversation about differences of opinion.	Sees self as facilitator of team. Seeks and considers input from direct reports. Looks for win-win solution. Encourages diversity of opinion.
How it plays out - horizontally	Interacts with peers from a competitive perspective in which there are “winners” and “losers.” May be territorial and combative if position in company is threatened.	Interacts with peers by looking for commonality and win-win solutions. Seeks to understand and respect other perspectives while maintaining his or her own. Finds ways to work together for the greater good.

It is imperative for organizations to develop leaders whose source of influence is personal power rather than power over. Personal power is true leadership – the type of leadership that transcends ego and titles and allows individuals to lead from the soul. Leading by compliance doesn’t work in the long run. Control doesn’t empower anyone else.

Politics is all about horizontal leadership or, in other words, leading across organizational boundaries. The more leadership there is from a personal power base, the better the politics. And, as a result, politics will no longer be seen as a necessary evil, but as an opportunity for leaders to collaborate creatively.

The Bottom Line

We all need to become much more aware of the reality of power and how it is used in organizations. If organizations do not intentionally develop leaders who have greater personal power, the default position will be the power over model, which is the prevailing perspective of corporate America. And the power over model is costly to both the bottom line (employees who are less engaged are less productive and less likely to stay), and to the human soul.

Imagine a workplace filled with people who have personal power. Imagine the creative contribution and soul fulfillment. Isn’t that where would you would rather work?

Do you or others in your organization need to improve personal political savvy? Check out the other resources available online at www.acceleraconsultinggroup.com or give us a call at 407.376.8522 for a free consultation. We accelerate results by igniting leadership and organizational potential!