Page 256 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

Settling into Your Renewing Organization 241

Being Overly Ambitious: Thinking of the Next Job or Playing Negative Politics
One of Estelle’s problems was thinking of her own promotion ahead of the
welfare of her organization. There was a perception that she sought influence
and contacts very carefully and with great persistence. It seemed to her
employees that her current assignment was merely a steppingstone to her next
promotion.
Whether her employees’ impression of her was accurate or not was imma-
terial. This was the impression she gave. What did she do? She served on too
many corporate and industry committees. It seemed to her employees that she
spent more time in meetings outside the department than within the depart-
ment. Much of the time she did have for the department ended up as time at
her desk, preparing reports for her many committee memberships and doing
departmental administrative work.
Her people saw little of her, and she didn’t have much informal time to chat
and brainstorm about problems. Furthermore, her direct reports felt that the
amount of time she did spend with them was inadequate. She seemed more
interested in responsibilities outside the department than in her department’s
work. How she used her lunchtime also affected those perceptions. Many
lunches were so-called power lunches with top and middle managers who
could help her career. Rarely did she lunch with direct reports and never with
her employees. When no power lunch was scheduled, she preferred to eat at
her desk, working.
She spent little time chatting with those on her team or other employees.
There were few “free-floating” discussions about the work. Encounters were
planned, to the point, purposeful, and functional. Things seemed so imper-
sonal, so businesslike. Her people did not feel she was involved with them,
their concerns, or their work.
And she got overly involved with the negative politics of the organization.
Much of what is called “politics” is actually the behind-the-scenes gossip, crit-
icisms, second-guessing, and politicking to advance a particular point of view.
When politics are self-centered, they are often personalized, focusing not on
the merits of the idea alone but explicitly or implicitly on the person advanc-
ing the idea to the benefit of himself or herself. In contrast, politicking can be
used also in a savvy, well-intentioned way that advances good ideas for the
benefit of the team, organization, and business.