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The Ugly Truth About Office Politics: Why Playing Nice Gets You Nowhere
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Forget everything you've been told about avoiding office politics.
I'm about to give you some advice that will probably make your HR department cringe, but after 18 years of watching good people get steamrolled by political players, someone needs to say it. Office politics isn't going anywhere. It's not a disease to be cured or a problem to be solved—it's the ecosystem you're swimming in whether you acknowledge it or not.
Three weeks ago, I watched Sarah from marketing miss out on a promotion she deserved because she "didn't want to get involved in politics." Meanwhile, James from sales—who couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery—landed the role because he understood that perception often trumps performance. Sarah's still wondering what went wrong.
The biggest lie we tell ourselves? That merit alone will get you ahead.
Here's what actually happens in most Australian workplaces: while you're head-down focusing on deliverables, someone else is building relationships, managing upward, and positioning themselves as indispensable. They're not necessarily better at the job. They're better at the game.
I used to think this was cynical bullshit. Spent five years believing that good work speaks for itself. Nearly tanked my career because of it. The wake-up call came when a colleague who'd been there half as long got promoted over me. His secret weapon? He'd figured out that our boss valued face-time over output and adjusted accordingly. Meanwhile, I was smugly working from home, delivering exceptional results that nobody noticed.
The Three Types of Political Players
In every organisation, you've got three camps. The Ostriches, the Sharks, and the Navigators.
The Ostriches stick their heads in the sand and pretend politics don't exist. They believe in meritocracy with religious fervour and get genuinely shocked when less qualified people advance. These are often your most talented technical people—engineers, analysts, specialists who think politics is beneath them. They're wrong, and they pay for it.
The Sharks are the stereotype everyone fears. Backstabbers, credit-stealers, empire-builders. They give office politics a bad name because they use it purely for self-advancement without regard for others. They're also usually terrible at their actual jobs, which is why they need politics to survive.
The Navigators understand that organisations are made of humans, and humans are political animals. They build genuine relationships, communicate their value effectively, and yes—they play the game. But they do it with integrity. They lift others up rather than tear them down.
Guess which group consistently gets promoted?
The Melbourne Coffee Culture Problem
Here's something uniquely Australian that drives me mental: our coffee culture actively works against introverted high performers. In Sydney and Melbourne especially, so much relationship-building happens over morning coffees and after-work drinks. If you're not part of those casual conversations, you're invisible.
I've seen brilliant analysts in Brisbane miss out on opportunities because they don't participate in the daily coffee runs. Meanwhile, their gregarious colleagues who contribute half as much get invited to strategy meetings because they've built relationships over flat whites.
The solution isn't to become someone you're not. It's to find your own way to build those connections. One of my most successful clients was an introvert who started hosting brown-bag lunch sessions about industry trends. Suddenly, people saw her expertise and sought her input on decisions.
Why Good People Hate Politics
Most decent humans recoil from office politics because they associate it with manipulation and dishonesty. Fair enough—we've all worked with someone who throws others under the bus to get ahead. But that's not politics; that's just being a dickhead.
Real office politics is about influence, relationships, and understanding how decisions actually get made. It's recognising that your brilliant idea means nothing if you can't get buy-in from stakeholders. It's knowing which battles to fight and which hills aren't worth dying on.
Politics becomes toxic when people confuse tactics with character. You can be politically savvy without compromising your values. In fact, you should be, because the alternative is letting less scrupulous people control the narrative.
The Unspoken Rules Nobody Teaches You
Every workplace has invisible rules that nobody explains but everyone's expected to know. Here are the big ones I've observed across hundreds of Australian businesses:
Face time still matters more than it should. Despite all the flexibility rhetoric, being physically present (or visibly online) during core hours signals commitment in most managers' minds. It's stupid, but it's reality.
Your boss's priorities become your priorities. Even if those priorities seem arbitrary or misguided. Fighting this is career suicide unless you're prepared to change roles.
Credit is a zero-sum game in most people's minds. If someone else gets recognised, many feel it diminishes their own contributions. This is why documentation and stakeholder communication matter so much.
Relationships beat rules. Someone with strong internal networks can bend processes that would break others. This isn't corruption—it's how humans operate.
Timing is everything. The same idea presented in January versus December can have completely different reception. Understanding organisational rhythms and priorities is crucial.
Playing the Game Without Losing Yourself
The key is developing what I call "ethical influence." Here's how:
Map the influence network. Every organisation has formal hierarchies and informal power structures. Understanding both is essential. Who does the CEO actually listen to? Whose opinion carries weight in meetings? This isn't about sucking up—it's about understanding how decisions flow.
Become a connector. One of the most powerful positions in any organisation is being the person who connects others. Introduce people, share opportunities, facilitate collaborations. This builds goodwill without being transactional.
Communicate your wins strategically. Nobody else is going to advocate for your achievements. Learn to share your successes in ways that highlight impact rather than ego. "The new process we implemented saved 40 hours per month" hits differently than "I created a great process."
Build alliances, not just relationships. Surface-level networking is transparent and ineffective. Find people whose goals align with yours and create genuine mutual benefit. Support their initiatives, and they'll support yours.
The Gender and Cultural Complexity
Let's acknowledge the elephant in the room: office politics hits different demographics differently. Women who are too politically aggressive get labelled as pushy. Those who aren't politically engaged enough get overlooked. It's a narrower path to navigate.
Similarly, people from cultures that don't emphasise self-promotion often struggle in environments where visibility equals value. The Australian workplace culture of "tall poppy syndrome" adds another layer—you need to be visible without appearing arrogant.
There's no perfect solution here, but awareness helps. Women often need to be more deliberate about claiming credit and building internal brands. People from modest cultural backgrounds need to find culturally appropriate ways to demonstrate value.
The Remote Work Wild Card
COVID changed the political landscape permanently. Remote work has made some traditional political behaviours less relevant (can't hang around the boss's office anymore) but created new ones. Now it's about who speaks up in video calls, who gets invited to ad-hoc Zoom chats, who maintains relationships despite physical distance.
The most politically savvy remote workers I know are incredibly intentional about communication. They over-communicate their progress, schedule regular check-ins with stakeholders, and find creative ways to maintain visibility.
When to Ignore All This Advice
Sometimes the political cost isn't worth paying. If your workplace is genuinely toxic—where politics involves undermining others or compromising ethics—your best political move might be finding a new job.
I've worked with companies where the political games were so consuming that actually doing good work became secondary. Where promotion required throwing colleagues under the bus or accepting credit for others' work. These environments are poison, and no career advancement is worth your integrity or mental health.
The Perth Perspective
Having worked across all major Australian cities, I've noticed Perth businesses often have a more direct communication style that can make traditional politics less pronounced. Maybe it's the mining influence or just the smaller professional community, but Perth professionals tend to be more straightforward about expectations and feedback.
This can actually be an advantage for people who struggle with subtlety in office politics. If you're naturally direct, Perth might be your political sweet spot.
Making Peace with the Game
Here's the bottom line: you're already playing office politics whether you realise it or not. Every interaction with colleagues, every email you send, every meeting you contribute to (or don't) is political. You're either playing intentionally or accidentally.
The choice isn't whether to engage with office politics—it's whether to engage thoughtfully or blindly.
Start small. Pay attention to how decisions actually get made in your organisation. Notice who gets consulted on important projects. Observe how successful people position their contributions. Build one genuine relationship with someone outside your immediate team.
You don't need to become a political animal overnight. You just need to stop pretending that merit alone will carry you forward in a world run by humans.
Because at the end of the day, organisations don't promote ideas or achievements—they promote people. And people skills, including political awareness, are part of being a complete professional.
The best part? Once you understand the game, you can play it on your own terms. You can be politically savvy without compromising your values. You can build influence while lifting others up. You can advance your career while making your workplace better.
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