Speaker: Colin Gautrey, author and consultant

Being politically savvy at work is always an asset, but, in the current economic downturn it can be the difference between keeping your job and losing it. That was one of the themes of Colin Gautrey’s thought-provoking seminar for City Women’s Network on ‘Political Games and Dirty Tricks at Work’.

Held at the Cass Business School jointly with the Cass Women in Business Group, the event was very lively and generated a lot of debate about the kinds of tricks which both bosses and colleagues can use to keep subordinates or rivals away from power and influence.

Colin, who is co-author of two books, ‘Political Dilemmas at Work’ and ’21 Dirty Tricks at Work’, and who works with a wide variety of public and private sector organisations to help empower their staff, encouraged the audience of more than fifty people to consider how they view office politics. Are you someone who is a victim of other people’s dirty tricks, and if so, how can you defend yourself? Or are you someone who is always alert and on top of the political game?

Do you recognise the following political dilemmas?

Home alone - suddenly your main political ally leaves and you find you’re left all alone without supporters.

Power Vacuum – your boss has left and no successor is in sight. Everyone is fighting for their position and nobody knows where the solid ground is.

Firestarter - you’re hired to push through changes even if that means starting a few fires and upsetting some people, but as soon as resistance grows support from your boss vanishes.

These are just a few of the situations which many of us are facing or have faced in the past. Colin’s advice is never to do nothing. Don’t be an ostrich and bury your head in the sand, because this is very risky. Always go out and find out more about what is really happening. Keep your emotions in check, maintain your own integrity, build your own alliances and extend your power base. Also, maintain your focus on your own goals so that you can make decisions with clarity that will help your career – whether it’s to stay and fight or to move away and find a pleasanter work environment.

CWN members can read more of Colin’s tips on surviving the credit crunch through building your own internal and external networks as well as his presentation on office politics which he gave at the Cass Business School in the Members Section. Click on Members > Resource Library > News for Members for this very useful information.