Re: Handling Power & Politic LO1855

Barry Mallis (bmallis@quickmail.markem.com)
29 Jun 1995 09:38:48 -0400

Reply to: RE>Handling Power & Politics LO1828

To Peter Heineman, writing about handling power and politics

Thanks, Pete, for your observations about politics in the organization. I
found your comments useful, interesting.

I'd like to continue one piece of it, if I may. You mention that politics
can become sordid and destructive. No doubt we all agree to some extent.
Your comment evoked the notion that in the upper echelons of an
organization, "crusts" develop. Or maybe a group glaucoma! The agenda
setting, networking and coalition forming all fail in that the manager
loses contact and contract with those lower in the organization. I
consider this failure, as you can see!

Power of position, ego, avoidance of people from other socio-economic
levels, are but a few causes. I do not advocate micro-management by every
upper level manager. What I think I am getting at is the need to maintain
roots, as it were. This is an essential part of politics, too. Perhaps
it is the best side, the most pluralistic side possible in politics. It
is another form of voice of the customer, is it not? The upper level
manager personally (not only through her or his minions) must encounter
and react directly to those below in the organization.

Do any of you think that the lack of this kind of contact (more informal
than formalized) is a failure of leaders in business? Does the
spin-doctor in most of us skew reality too much, and provide another
avoidable reason for occasional bad management decision making?

I wish to affirm that I am not talking about ALL of business management
practices, but only a particular slice. Further, I submit that there is
actually a startling link between these thoughts and story-telling as a
means of learning in an organization. Broadly speaking, what constitutes
a story? When is a story deleterious, because the natural filtering
process of teller and listener are consciously and unconsciously ruled by
implicit political thinking (e.g. How will my manager react? Will it
affect my "standing", my own power base, etc. etc.).

I repeat my thank you, Peter, for your own helpful thoughts which provoke
what I hope will be further, positive and insightful dialog.

--
Barry Mallis 
Total Quality Resource Manager
MARKEM Corporation
Keene, NH
bmallis@markem.com