How can empowerment and political awareness improve your career?

"4. Empower yourself. No matter who you are, what position you will hold, or where you will work, you probably will have to report to somebody. If you are fortunate enough to work in a culture of empowerment, you are allowed control over your job (not complete control, but enough control to make you feel your opinion matters). When you are not given an opportunity to provide input, you will eventually lose interest in your job. When empowered, you have the confidence to do something to alter your circumstances. On the job, empowerment means that you can make decisions to benefit the organization and its customers. If you want to gain empowerment in your life and work, here are a few tips: be assertive, ask for credit for yourself when it is due, propose ideas to your group and your supervisor, initiate projects without being asked, tie your personal goals to those of the organization, develop your leadership skills, plan to learn on a continuous basis, be informed, don’t let others intimidate you, and don’t complain about a bad situation—instead, take action to improve it. 5. Become politically savvy. Politics is an inevitable part of every organization in the United States, including your school. Politics has always been a part of the workplace and always will be. The trick is to learn to play the political game to your own advantage and to the advantage of others without causing harm to anyone else. Being political means getting along with others in order to move them toward accomplishing a specific goal. It does not mean maneuvering for selfish purposes, manipulating in order to deceive, or scheming so others lose while you win. Here are some tips and techniques to be an effective player in the political game: Think about what you say. Understand the effect your words will have on others before you say or write them. Empathize. Try to think of a situation from the other person’s perspective. Suggest a trial period if you meet opposition to an idea you’re proposing. If you are as successful as you are confident, you can then ask to have the trial period extended. Learn about the political climate in which you are working. This means knowing, among other things, what actions have led to failure for others, knowing who is “in” and why, determining who is “out” and why, and learning what behaviors lead to promotion. Volunteer to do the jobs no one else wants to do. Occasionally pitching in shows your willingness to get the job done. However, do not make this your trademark; you do not want others to think they can take advantage of you. Work hard to meet the needs of those in authority. Make certain you fully understand management’s requirements; then go out of your way to meet them. If in time you do not think you are getting the recognition or respect you deserve, make your own needs known. Give credit to others. You never know who may be in a position to hurt or harm you. Consequently, the best policy is to treat everyone with respect and dignity. Show your appreciation to everyone who has helped you. Do not steal credit that belongs to someone else. Learn your supervisor’s preferences. The more you are in sync with your supervisor’s style, wishes, and preferences, the better you can do your job. However, do not be a rubber stamp. Rather, work the way your manager works. When necessary, suggest better ways of doing things. Keep secrets—your own and others’. Resist the temptation to tell all. Not only do you run the risk of being labeled a gossip, but if you share too much about yourself, your words may come back to haunt you. If you are revealing information told to you in confidence, you are bound to lose the trust and respect of those who originally confided in you. Find out how well you play the political game by taking the quiz in Table 17.2. Fun Self-Test—Can You Play the Political Game? Rate your level of agreement with the statements below using the following scale: Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree 1. To be successful, you should have a strong relationship with your boss and subordinates. 2. Office politics is not very challenging. 3. Tough people give you a tough time but also teach you tough lessons. 4. Networking and observation play a major role in being good at office politics. 5. There is no ethics or morals in office politics. 6. Corporate politics is not about the individuals; it is about the survival of the corporation. 7. Office politics is the only way; you gain real access to your boss’s ear. 8. Those who avoid being political at work may not move forward in their careers, may find themselves resentful and frustrated, and run the risk of being isolated. 9. If you do all of the work on a project, you won’t tell the boss because you don’t want your coworkers to get in trouble. 10. When faced with gossip and rumors, you prefer to be silent but aware. 11. To master office politics, you should seek a win-lose situation. 12. If a person in authority is out to get rid of you, a good tactic would be to establish allies and position yourself for another job in the company. 13. If you have made any significant contribution to a project, you always make sure that others know about it, which, in turn, adds to your reputation. See the scoring guidelines at the end of this chapter to obtain your score. Table"