How can politically-driven individuals impact your organization?
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CIO Strategic Advisor in Services (non-Government)2 years ago
I had an experience at an organization where there was a certain subset of politically-driven individuals. There were pockets of these folks across the organization, and when you would move one part of the organization in a way that they felt was detrimental, the others would retaliate. And there was little you could do about it, unless you tried to root out the entire organization, which was brutal.Advisor | Investor | Former CIO in Services (non-Government)2 years ago
Those that have been in the organization for an extended period of time have an entitled view because they have been there from the outset, in many cases. They don’t feel obligated to justify any of their decisions. And as a result of their political clout, others in the organization fear crossing swords with this individual, so they’ll choose the path of least resistance.That’s something I’ve had to root out early on when I began in a past role. I had an infrastructure architect that just knew how to hang out with the CEO and the rest of the executives. And as a result, he had a lot of protection. When I came in, I put together a performance improvement plan (PIP), measured him and moved him out, while documenting everything. He was toxic. But when you eliminate those individuals from your organization, everyone else breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that they no longer have to pander to that individual. So it earns you a lot of respect from the rest of the organization for doing what should have been done a long time ago by your predecessor. And the best part is that you also save good people that way, because they are the ones that tend to leave first. It's a domino effect.
Director of IT in Services (non-Government)2 years ago
When politics are involved there is rarely a positive outcome. However, we all know and understand politics are a part of nearly every organization. If you can build positive relationships and attempt to build positive culture you can overcome those politics nearly every time. TLDR; dont let politically driven individuals impact your organization negatively. Force change. CIO in Consumer Goods2 years ago
In all ways politically-driven individual cause damage to organizations.And depending on wich country are you based in, could be worst.
As @Tim Crawford mentioned, ".. .tried to root out the entire organization, which was brutal...", but sometimes necessary.
Vice President Information Technology in Finance (non-banking)2 years ago
Of course, they do not work in silos. They create a group or subset of such people in the organization and assure everybody in the group to protect their personal benefits in case things become unfavourable to the members. However, the fact is that the basis of such group is the "Fear" of elimination or "Consequences ".If we can identify such individuals or group in the early stage then it can save the organization from future adversaries. They simply work to protect their personal interests and the organization really doesn't matter for them. All of their decisions would be politically motivated keeping their interest as the primary focus.
As a consequence, the organization may loose out on good and honest employees, future growth prospects and sometimes even the inflated costs of tenders etc.