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Office Politics

Practice ¡ Chapter 2

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

Almost everyone deals with office politics; most people believe it is best to at least be aware of it. As an architect you will engage with a wider variety of stakeholders, more often, than you did as a senior developer — so politics affects you more. People from diverse backgrounds bring their own goals and viewpoints; achieving things often requires others’ help, spending or borrowing “political capital.” These soft skills connect to communication and negotiation in Chapter 15.

Tactics for succeeding at office politics

Section titled “Tactics for succeeding at office politics”

Understand your organization’s goals

Section titled “Understand your organization’s goals”
  • Know the strategic goals and direction; align your goals with them to reduce friction (those who conflict with org goals conflict with the organization).
  • Understand how the org makes and invests money. When requesting resources (people, equipment, tool licenses), be ready to justify the ROI against org objectives.

Address the concerns of others

Section titled “Address the concerns of others”
  • Many stakeholders bring concerns; address them promptly regardless of priority/legitimacy.
  • Unresolved issues get escalated and appear bigger than they are.
  • Make the person feel heard and understood; if no action will be taken, explain why and confirm the concern was noted.

Assist people with their goals

Section titled “Assist people with their goals”
  • Help others meet goals or solve problems when you can, as long as it doesn’t conflict with your values or the company’s goals.
  • Do it without expecting anything in return — avoid a reputation for favors-with-strings. Goodwill makes future help more likely.

Know when to compromise

Section titled “Know when to compromise”
  • Be willing to compromise when it’s clear you may not get what you want.
  • Compromise when you lack leverage (some suitable outcome beats none) or when it pays off long-term.
  • Prepare in advance: decide how important the issue is and what compromise is acceptable; listen to understand the other side’s reasoning, which can reveal middle ground.

Be aware of cultural differences

Section titled “Be aware of cultural differences”
  • Organizations operate globally and may outsource across countries.
  • Learn the cultures of people you deal with; different cultures prefer different phrases/approaches — this maximizes clarity and avoids misunderstandings. See also working with remote resources.

Citations

Section titled “Citations”
  • Software Architect’s Handbook (Packt, 2018), Ch.2 “Office politics”, pp. 115-121.