INSTANT MBA: Don't Let Office Politics Destroy Your Morale

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barry salzberg

Northwestern University

Barry Salzberg at a speaking event.

Today's advice comes from Barry Salzberg, CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, via LinkedIn:

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"Office politics aren't pretty. You can recognize the symptoms. Leaders don’t trust each other, departments compete against one another, and people suffer from a toxic working environment ... If you do nothing else, do this. Be aware of the dynamics driving office politics, but avoid joining in with the games yourself. Rise above it. Stay true to your values and hold yourself to the highest ethical standards."

Salzberg warns that office politics can ruin a potentially great company from succeeding. Building trust, increasing transparency, and changing the semantics of "winning" are important ways to stop office politics from growing. However, Salzberg says that life's too short to work for an organization that doesn't share your values.

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"Find an organization that shares your values, because that’s where you’ll be most successful ... You can influence a great deal, simply by being a role model for others. But if the politics in your organization suggest its values are irreconcilable with your own, it’s time to start looking for one that’s a better fit."

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