White Paper on Political Skill What is Political Skill and why is it a Good Thing By Braddy and Campbell A political leader is often associated with negative perceptions and behaviors In reality it s a necessity and can be a positive skill when used appropriately Political Skill the ability to maximize and leverage relationships in order to achieve organizational team and individual goals Four Political Skill Practices For leaders to maximize the positive impact of political skills on others and on their organizations utilizing these 4 practices is recommended Social Awareness A leader s ability to astutely observe others to understand their behaviors and motives Interpersonal Influence A leader s ability to influence and engage others using a compelling and charismatic interpersonal style Networking A leader s ability to build diverse relationship networks across and outside the organization Sincerity A leader s ability to be forthright open honest and genuine with others Extent of Use of the Political Skill Practices Most to least utilized sincerity interpersonal influence social awareness networking men did May be due to the fact that sincerity is the most natural and easiest practice while networking is the most difficult Women reported that they used political skill practices slightly more than Overall though leaders tend to utilize the political skill practices fairly similarly regardless of gender or job level Leaders as a collective probably have a greater need to improve their use of networking and social awareness than they do sincerity and interpersonal influence o Leaders may be overplaying their strengths o Not effectively leveraging their whole repertoire Improving Leader Effectiveness and Reducing Problems that Can Stall a Career Political skill practices allow leaders to exert greater influence on others Help their work teams increase their efficiency and productivity Helps them maximize their own job success Those who practice political skill thrive in the workplace with 3 exceptions o Leaders use of social awareness was not associated with their peers or direct reports perceptions of the leaders ability to meet business objectives o Leaders use of networking was not associated with their bosses perceptions of their ability to maintain good interpersonal relationships o Leaders use of sincerity was not associated with their bosses perceptions of their ability to meet business objectives Political skill is just one of many skills that leaders need Some political skill practices may be somewhat more relevant than others in terms of helping leaders prevent political derailment How to Apply Political Skill to Leadership Challenges Two most common challenges that leaders encounter Managing Collaborations Social Awareness Have you observed what makes this team unique What have you observed about the other team s identity How can you increase your team s interaction with this team Interpersonal Influence leaders How would you characterize your current relationship with other team When and where would be an opportunity to engage with team leaders individually or all together to focus on building a relationship with other teams Networking Sincerity Have you identified key stakeholders within each team who may be more influential connected or respected Are there potential stakeholders within each team who may be less connected but could have expertise or knowledge that is currently untapped How open and transparent are you in your communications with each team about the vision and direction driving the need to collaborate What level of trust does each team have in you and what may be some of the causes for the level of trust Developing Talent Social Awareness What have you directly observed about your direct reports strength and development needs based on their day to day work activities How have your direct reports responded to challenging situations and assignments What have you seen that gives you an indication of what motivates and energizes your direct reports Interpersonal Influence What have you done to learn more about your direct reports personal interests and lives outside of work How much positive feedback feedback that reinforces effective behaviors do you provide to your direct reports on a daily basis Networking Sincerity Whom do you know with current knowledge expertise or skill and whom you could connect with a direct report needing to develop similar knowledge expertise or skill Have you helped your direct report assess his or her network of relationships to identify others to reach out to for support on development goals or challenging assignments Are you truly invested in the career development of your direct reports How do you show that you are truly invested Have you told your direct reports that the organization wants to invest in their development How have you set realistic expectations for development and promotion opportunities Improving your Own Political Skill Assessment Assess current level of skill Becoming More Politically Skilled Identify which skill practice you think could make the biggest difference in your leadership effectiveness with the following questions What group of coworkers are you most interested in influencing And which political skill practice do you think would be most effective with this particular coworker group On which of the four political skill practices do you have the greatest development need working on first Which of the four political skill practices do you feel most comfortable Which of the four political skill practices do you personally value most Set specific goals and strategies to achieve your goals A Word of Caution These practices can be misused Social Awareness Don t overanalyze Don t make people feel judged or labeled by you Interpersonal Influence If you only use it with your superior and not your subordinates it will look like you re sucking up Don t only make connections when you need something Don t be surface networker someone who has lots of connections but with Networking little depth Sincerity Don t be overly positive people will think it s not the real you Don t be afraid of showing vulnerability and giving feedback Power and Politics Power What Does it Have to Do With Leadership Power is The potential or ability to influence behavior and decisions and to control valuable resources Leadership is The use of power to influence and direct the activities of followers Types of Power Organizational