This month in our Intentionaleaders membership, we're tacking political savvy.  Here's a sneak peek...

Art Petty described 5 Unavoidable Facts of Organizational Life:

1. Everywhere humans gather, a political environment emerges.
2. In every political environment, some individuals develop more influence than others.
3. Those who have the most influence decide what gets done and who does what.
4. Influence doesn’t accrue accidentally—it takes deliberate effort to cultivate the right relationships.
5. You don’t get to claim, “I don’t want to play those games.” (See #4: those games are all about relationship development.)

I think about it like this: Political savvy is the ability to understand situations, people and context to influence outcomes and achieve results while not ticking people off (or even better yet, they like, respect and trust you).

Here’s the good news.  We can get better at exploring and navigating these dynamics.  It can sound complicated, my goal is to simplify it.

Because so many years ago, this area tripped me up.  At the heart of being politically savvy, it’s about getting positive results.  Here are some ideas to accomplish this goal.

4 Foundations to Political Savvy

• Self-Awareness: We have so many things going on.  Our brain helps us by processing much of our day automatically.  Yay for our brain, boo for our self-awareness.  It’s difficult to be savvy if you aren’t mindful of how you come across.
• Situational Awareness: Means being fully present in situations.  Being aware of your surroundings, of dynamics and power bases, and what is really going on. Because any encounter we have is potentially ripe with insights and information, if we pay attention to it through that lens.  And those that are political savvy, consistently do so.
• Networking: This is not about networking for networking sake, but knowing what you already have, and seeking to build and strengthen it.
• Organizational Culture/Dynamics: This is a huge area in itself.  But we must understand cultural norms and practices that we need to be mindful of, to achieve our positive results.  I think about it in the 4 Ps.  Priorities, Players, Performance and Practices.

1. Priorities:  Is about understanding the most important targets for the organization, for you, and your team.
2. Players:  Goes beyond our discussion on your network to consider the people who have power to help or hinder your ability to accomplish your goals and results.  Do you know know who they are?
3. Performance:  Is exploring the way productivity and performance is both viewed and acknowledged within the organization.
4. Practices:  Are the consistent methods or processes used to share information, drive priorities and address ongoing challenges.

Assess these areas, fill in the gaps.

Being political savvy means achieving results.  It means putting in the time and care to be successful in your goals, setting your team up for success and adding value to the organization.

It does not typically happen randomly or spontaneously.   It takes focus an action.  Work and practice.  Strengthening your savvy is like strengthening your muscles.  Sometime there is pain.  Sometimes you will sweat.  Sometimes you need a protein bar.

But in the end, the practice will be worth it.

Be the Best Leader You Know

Perform with Power, Lead with Impact, Inspire Growth

To sharpen your skills and increase your confidence, check out the Confident Leader Course:  https://www.intentionaleaders.com/confident-leader