Who is the course for?
This course is ideal for leaders at all levels or anyone who desires to have a better understanding of the strategies needed to successfully navigate organizational politics and overcome challenging situations within the workplace.
Course overview
Organizational politics involves the use of influential tactics that improve personal or organizational interests. A leader with good political skills manages to gain more personal power and can handle stress and job demands better, therefore having a greater impact on organizational goals. The focus of this course is on building a strong understanding of organizational politics, addressing challenges, and discovering ways to ethically approach workplace politics.
Completing this course will help you
Define the major aspects of organizational politics and their benefits and challenges to the company.
Examine the role of people in organizational politics and determine ways to strengthen relationships and influence others through the use of positive behaviors.
Determine the role that soft and hard power play in the organizational life, and learn strategies to leverage it effectively to build relationships, meet goals, and create momentum.
Recognize the impact that building a positive and influential culture has on an organizations’ results.
Four Sessions
- 1
Defining Organizational Politics
In this module, we will explore a broad overview of organizational politics and discuss the benefits and challenges associated with it. We will also identify three aspects of organizational politics: People, Power and Potential. We will learn how each of these aspects plays an important role in navigating the political landscape.
- 2
The People Aspect of Organizational Politics
In this module, we will explore how the People aspect (specifically, leader behaviors) impacts the political landscape and can be leveraged to positively influence the company or team culture.
- 3
The Source of Power Aspect
Successful leaders are using a more integrative and participatory style with a greater emphasis on the soft power of attraction, rather than the hard power of command. However, the two are often used interchangeably to influence others in positive and negative ways. In this session, we will examine how soft and hard sources of power influence and impact the organizational system.
- 4
The Potential Aspect
In this module, we will explore the Potential Aspect and discover how understanding organizational politics can help leaders to be successful by creating a culture of connection, openness, and trust.