Learn how to navigate the political twists and snarls in your organization

SIDEBAR: It's Politics, As Usual

Politics is part of organizational life. Here's what you need to know

by Lafe Low

Politics is a term with a bad smell. For most people, it conjures up images of shady backroom deals and conniving people who push through their own agendas, usually at the expense of others. But if politics is a dirty word, then roll up your sleeves. Political skills are essential for every CIO. And you don't have to sell your soul to master them.

"Any time you get three people together, you've got politics. It's a reality of human relations," says Doug Barker, CEO of Barker & Scott Consulting and former CIO of The Nature Conservancy. "It means you have stakeholders who have a vested interest in the outcome. You need to recognize those vested interests and move toward situations that can create win-wins."

Not every politically charged situation will be fraught with peril and deceit. "People take politics in a bad context, but it's not always bad," says Andre Spatz, CIO of Unicef. "It's part of the process of making and influencing decisions."

Political skills such as identifying stakeholders, managing relationships and communicating well are critical for IT leaders. Yet they're hardly unique to the CIO role. "The higher up you report in your organization, the more important it is to be sensitive and savvy to the dynamics of your organization," says Judi Zito, director of the Government Information Centre (GIC), Miami-Dade County in Florida (and the county's former CIO).

Whatever your reaction to thinking of yourself as a politician, it's just business as usual in most cases, says Bill Hagerup, a senior consultant with Ouellette & Associates Consulting. "Like it or not, we are all in conflict for the scarce resources available to the organization," he says. "Politics is the most common way of resolving organizational conflicts." In that sense, politics is preferable to raw displays of power — especially if you're at a power disadvantage.

On the Campaign Trail

So what does it take for a CIO to successfully navigate the political twists and snares that develop in any organization? In the spirit of election campaigns everywhere, we present some tips. While organizational politics isn't quite as dramatic, CIOs can draw on the strategic and tactical mind-sets of the vote-mongering variety of candidate.

Understand your constituency. Quite simply, know whom you're dealing with and how they fit into the organization. "You need to develop an understanding of who the key players are and thoughtfully consider their motives, goals, perspectives, relationships with one another and their relationships with IT," says Barker. "Once you've done that, you're in a position to more successfully wade through politically charged situations."

Taking into account the needs and desires of your constituency is as important for a CIO seeking approval for a project or budget as it is for a presidential candidate seeking re-election. "It is part of the fabric of how to deal with executive management," says Unicef's Spatz. "You find your supporters, see who is the real decision maker, who is an influential supporter and who is an influential opponent." Those techniques are essential elements of a CIO's survival kit, he says.