Project Politics
It’s not personal, it is only business.
11/15/2016
Your Hosts and Facilitators
• John Laverdure, PMP
• Dave Mayo
11/15/2016
Agenda
Why all these politics?
Assessing your political environments
Types of power / influence
Developing and increasing your power
Audience participation
11/15/2016
Why all this politics..
Everyone has a agenda
The world is not fair, get over it
Politics is the use of power / influence to
get things done
Competition for scarce resources,
promotions, influence, etc.
They just don’t like you, project,
Nepotism, outside influences, etc.
11/15/2016
Levels of Organizational Politics*
Minimally Political
Moderate Political
Highly Political
Pathologically Political
*from Office Politics Isn’t something you can sit out – Reardon (HBR 2015)
Visible vs. Invisible Politics
Open vs. Guerilla warfare
What do you do if political environment does not fit
with your temperament?
Change – Yourself, Environment, Jobs….other?
11/15/2016
Dilbert view on Power
11/15/2016
Types of Power
Legitimate
Reward
Referent
Punishment
Expert
Informational
SHIVSHANKER SHENOY
11/15/2016
Legitimate Power
When you are made project manager of
a project you are given legitimate
power to tell your team what they
should be working on.
In strong matrix or projectized
organization you may be completely in
charge of team, in terms of doing their
performance appraisal, decide on
compensation etc.
SHIVSHANKER SHENOY
11/15/2016
Reward Power
This power is about the ability to provide
someone with something that the
person desires, or provide something
that reduces the pains of undesirable
experience.
Essentially you either increase the
comfort or decrease the discomfort.
As a project manager you will have control
over budget and you can decide on rewards
to be given.
SHIVSHANKER SHENOY
11/15/2016
Referent Power
A project manager mentioning to the
team that he had a lunch meeting with
the CEO and he appreciated team’s hard
work, you are exercising referent power.
You associate yourself with people in
power and show the team how they
stand to benefit by this.
This type of power is often found amongst
celebrities, military and political figures.
SHIVSHANKER SHENOY
11/15/2016
Punishment Power
This is also called as Coercive power.
This power may have negative
consequences. Main goal of this
power is compliance.
Punishment power is exercised when
someone is not performing and has to be
reminded of bad consequences if there is
no improvement.
“praise in public, reprimand in private” –
have such talks always in private.
11/15/2016
Expert Power
Is power based upon employees'
perception that a manager or some
other member of an organization has
a high level of knowledge or a
specialized set of skills that other
employees or members of the
organization do not possess.
11/15/2016
Informational Power
Is the most transitory type of
power. Once you give your
information away, you give your
power away.
For example, you share the secret, your
power is gone. It’s different from other
forms of power because it’s grounded in
what you know about the content of a
specific situation. Other forms of power
are independent of the content.
11/15/2016
Developing & Increasing Power
Study workplace politics (expertise)
Observe those that have power and
those that do not.
Identify your personal style
Networking
Manage Upward / downward
Stakeholder management
11/15/2016
Assessing your Political situation
What is the political environment?
Does environment fit my temperament?
What is the issue (agenda)?
What power being exerted?
Do I need to act? Is it important?
Do I have options to create a “win-win”
What are their strengths/weaknesses? Yours?
Do I have all the information I need? If not, get more!
Do I need alliance’s/support?
Who has power (influence) that I can use?
Who do they listen to?
Create a plan of action, review & apply “what if scenarios”
Can I avoid their strengths? Move quickly?
11/15/2016
Audience Participation
Framework for discussion
What was your project?
What problem did you encounter?
What were the political
environment?
What power roles were in play?
How did you/ would you resolve it?
11/15/2016
Break Time!
11/15/2016
