Workplace politics is a crucible. For most, it’s a punishing ordeal – a maze of hidden agendas, veiled conflicts, and unrelenting pressure that drains energy, erodes health, and stifles ambition.
Yet for a rare few, it’s a chessboard: intricate, challenging, but ultimately a game they’ve mastered. The chasm between those who fail and those who succeed isn’t luck, charisma, or even raw talent – it’s a deliberate, disciplined grasp of what politics truly is and how to wield it with precision and integrity.
Years ago, I coached Clare, a senior leader who embodied the struggle of the majority. ‘I’m tearing my hair out,’ she confessed during our first call. Every meeting was a battlefield – directors jostling for dominance, backstabbing with smiles, and agendas so tangled she couldn’t discern who was driving what. She felt outmanoeuvred, exhausted, and on the brink of defeat.
Yet within months, a transformation unfolded. ‘I’m actually enjoying this,’ she said, her voice alight with quiet confidence. ‘I sit in meetings now, leaning back, watching it all unfold. I see what they’re doing, why they’re stuck, and when the moment’s right, I move – and I get what I want. Even better, they’re coming to me for help.’
Clare didn’t just survive politics; she became one of the few who succeed. Her journey hinged on embracing ten principles that most overlook, to their profound detriment.
These ideas don’t merely shield you from the pain of politics – they transform it into a source of power. Ignore them, and you’ll remain among the majority, mired in frustration and always a step behind. Master them, and you’ll join the elite who shape the game.
Here are the ten pillars of succeeding where most fail.
Inevitability: The Game That Never Ends
Politics isn’t a dirty word – it’s the heartbeat of human interaction. Wherever decisions are made, politics is at play. It’s not a shadowy conspiracy or an optional sideshow; it’s the mechanism by which influence flows, resources are allocated, and outcomes are shaped.
Most fail because they deny this reality, wishing it away or fleeing to new roles, companies, or industries – only to find the game persists, with different rules.
Why? Because people want what they want. They’ll align, persuade, or undermine to get it. Even your own decisions, made in solitude, are shaped by the political acts of others – whether you see them or not.
To succeed, you must accept this truth and commit to playing well. Denying politics is like denying gravity: it will pull you down, and you’ll be among the many who crash.
Attitude: The Lens That Divides Winners from Losers
Most despise politics. They see it as grubby, manipulative, a betrayal of meritocracy. In many organisations, ‘playing politics’ is a slur, and those who claim ‘I don’t do politics’ wear their abstention like a badge of honour.
Yet, in my experience, those who protest loudest are often the most entangled in it – albeit unconsciously or clumsily. This disdain is why they fail, leaving them reactive, defensive, and perpetually outplayed.
The few who succeed adopt a different attitude: curiosity and possibility. They see politics as a puzzle to solve, a skill to hone. This shift doesn’t just make the game bearable – it makes it exhilarating.
Clare’s breakthrough began when she stopped fighting politics and started mastering its rules, turning dread into confidence. Your attitude determines whether you languish with the majority or rise with the elite.
Curiosity: The Key to Seeing What Others Miss
Curiosity separates those who flounder from those who flourish. If politics is about decisions, start asking: What decisions are being made? Who’s influencing them? How do formal processes intersect with informal power? Who’s connected to whom, and where do their interests clash?
Treat the organisation as a living system, a web of motives, pressures, and alliances. Your job is to map it – not with judgement, but with fascination.
This isn’t gossip or voyeurism; it’s sophisticated inquiry. Observe body language in meetings. Note who speaks first, who stays silent, who gets deferred to. Track how decisions evolve from proposal to outcome. Most fail because they don’t bother to look.
Clare succeeded because she saw her warring directors not as enemies, but as players with predictable moves – each driven by fears, ambitions, or blind spots she could anticipate and navigate.
Context: The Bigger Picture That Explains the Chaos
Every political move has a logic, even if it feels irrational or malicious. The director who undercuts you isn’t necessarily evil – he’s likely protecting something: his budget, his status, his team’s survival. The colleague who hoards information isn’t just petty – she’s compensating for insecurity.
Most fail because they take these actions personally, reacting without understanding. The few who succeed seek the context – personal, organisational, cultural – that makes behaviours legible.
This requires relentless curiosity, but it’s worth it. Context reveals the why behind the what. It shows you the pressures shaping each player’s actions, the stakes they’re guarding, the battles they’re fighting.
Armed with this insight, you can predict moves, defuse conflicts, and position yourself as a trusted ally. Without it, you’re just reacting – and you’ll stay among the majority, always a step behind.
Foresight: Seeing Tomorrow’s Moves Today
Most fail because they’re trapped in the present, reacting to today’s skirmishes without seeing tomorrow’s battles. The few who succeed anticipate where power is shifting, what trends are emerging, who’s gaining or losing influence. The higher you climb, the more critical this becomes. A boardroom coup, a restructuring, a shift in market priorities – these don’t happen overnight. They’re telegraphed months in advance, if you know where to look.
Strategic foresight – through scenario planning, stakeholder mapping, or simply asking ‘what if?’ – gives you an edge. It lets you prepare for battles others don’t yet see.
Clare’s directors were so consumed by their immediate turf wars they missed the broader currents shifting their industry. She didn’t. By anticipating those currents, she positioned herself as the one with answers when the moment arrived, joining the few who shape the future.
Relationships: The Currency of Influence
No amount of insight saves you if you’re isolated. Relationships are the conduits of influence – without them, you’re locked out of the real conversations. Most fail because they either neglect relationships or build the wrong ones, chasing flattery over substance.
The few who succeed prioritise those with the power to shape outcomes: decision-makers, gatekeepers, connectors. They build trust deliberately, through mutual respect and shared purpose.
This takes time and discipline. Listen more than you speak. Offer value before you ask for it. Map stakeholders against your goals, and invest in those who can amplify your influence.
Clare’s turnaround hinged on this: once she built trust with key players, they shared the information she needed to complete her picture of the organisation. Trust opened doors; relationships walked her through them, setting her apart from the majority.
Integrity: The Long Game That Sets You Apart
In a world of schemers, integrity is a superpower. Most fail because they either avoid politics altogether or play it dirty, chasing short-term wins that backfire. Backroom deals, subtle betrayals, corner-cutting – these can work briefly, but they erode trust and limit longevity.
The few who succeed navigate politics without compromising their principles, building a reputation that becomes their greatest asset.
Integrity doesn’t mean naivety. It means knowing the game but choosing to play it cleanly. It means saying what you mean, delivering what you promise, and helping others win without losing yourself.
Clare’s colleagues sought her out not because she outmanoeuvred them, but because they trusted her to deal fairly. That trust became her leverage, letting her shape decisions faster and with less friction – a hallmark of the elite.
Detachment: Don’t Let It Get Personal
Political moves feel personal – especially when you’re on the receiving end. A snub, a sidelining, a public critique: it’s easy to take it to heart.
Most fail because they do, getting entangled in the drama and losing their clarity. But most of the time, it’s not about you. It’s about someone else’s fears, agendas, or miscalculations. You just happen to be in the crossfire.
Detachment is your shield. Step back, analyse, and respond with clarity, not emotion. Clare succeeded because she saw her directors’ attacks as symptoms of their own pressures, not as assaults on her worth. This let her stay calm, think strategically, and act decisively. Those who take politics personally stay mired with the majority; those who don’t join the few who rise above it.
Ambiguity: Thriving in the Grey
You’ll never have all the answers. No matter how curious you are, how many relationships you build, gaps will remain. Most fail because they wait for certainty, paralysed by the unknown. The few who succeed accept ambiguity and act anyway. They assess the risks, weigh the unknowns, and make decisions with imperfect information.
This takes courage and practice. Start by embracing small decisions under uncertainty. Test your instincts, learn from the outcomes, and refine your judgement. Over time, you’ll develop a knack for moving confidently in the fog.
Clare’s confidence grew not because she knew everything, but because she trusted herself to act despite not knowing – a trait that set her among the elite.
Creativity: Imagining the Unthinkable
Political surprises – mergers, betrayals, sudden shifts – catch most off guard because they’re too rational, too linear. They fail to imagine the unexpected, so they’re blindsided when it arrives. The few who succeed ask, ‘What’s the one thing no one expects? What could change everything?’ They imagine the unthinkable, not as a paranoid exercise, but as a way to stay ahead of the curve.
Creativity isn’t just for artists – it’s for strategists. When Clare began thinking creatively about her directors’ motives, she anticipated moves they hadn’t yet made. She saw possibilities others missed, positioning herself as the one with vision when the boardroom shifted. This isn’t about wild guesses; it’s about disciplined imagination, grounded in context and honed by curiosity – a skill that distinguishes the few who thrive.
The Payoff: From Dread to Dominance
Clare’s journey wasn’t just about surviving politics – it was about mastering it. Within six months, she went from dreading meetings to commanding them. She built a reputation as a leader who saw clearly, acted decisively, and lifted others up. When a country CEO role opened, she wasn’t just considered – she was courted. She had joined the few who succeed where most fail.
This is the promise of mastering politics: not mere survival, but transformation. It’s about turning a source of pain into a source of power. It’s about seeing the game for what it is, playing it with skill and integrity, and emerging not just unscathed, but unstoppable.
Most will continue to flinch at politics, to resent it, to stumble through it. But you’re not most. You’re built for more. Embrace these principles, and you won’t just navigate the fray – you’ll shape it, and join the elite who turn politics into their advantage.