Office Politics…Meet The Office Diplomats

by Lynn Taylor

Founder and CEO, Lynn Taylor Consulting

Office politics in the workplace are as much a fixture as the coffee machine, but are they all bad?  Certainly the petty posturing and face-saving maneuvers that may hide great ideas are costing companies untold millions of dollars every day.  But there are some tiny nuggets of value in the positive side of office politics.

You can learn from the Office Diplomats, some of the more deft office politicians in the workplace. They know how to referee an argument that’s going south or avert one before it gets started. Office Diplomats know that when a brainstorming session is underway, not to blurt out something negative. They remain quiet, or take the grain of value from the concept and parlay it into something more meaningful or applicable.  They know when a meeting is going too long and gently take it back on course without offending.

Office Diplomats also play great defense and are not easily ruffled.  They realize that it’s not what the other person says, it’s often how you react to it that sets you apart.  They also know how to handle the challenge of a situation where an employee has to make a tough choice. Instead of appearing to favor a boss, a subordinate, peer, or even an idea, an Office Diplomat will work to find common ground between all parties and mediate a solution that gets everyone’s buy-in.

You probably know of an Office Diplomat in your company.  It’s amazing to watch that person in action, and it’s a good idea to take some pointers. Because if there’s one thing you never formally learn in college, it’s how to bring people and ideas together productively without offending anyone.