Let me ask you something.
Have you ever missed out on a promotion you knew you deserved? Or had a colleague you thought was a friend stab you in the back?
If you’re nodding along, you’ve been a victim of office politics. It’s the invisible force that shapes careers, and if you don't learn how to navigate it, your entire career will feel like an uphill battle.
(I’ve learned that lesson the hard way!)
But what if you could learn the unwritten rules of the game? What if you could turn office politics into your advantage, without selling your soul?
Let’s dive in.
The Office Politics Playbook
Office politics isn't just about gossip and manipulation; it's about understanding how power, influence, and decisions really work in your company. This playbook is your guide to navigating it with integrity and winning on your own terms.
SYSTEM SCORECARD
Career Impact: 9.5/10 (How much will this protect and accelerate your career?)
Relationship Strength: 8.5/10 (How much will this improve your internal influence?)
Ease of Use: 9.0/10 (How quickly can you apply these concepts?)
First, You Have to See the Board
Before you can make a move, you have to know what game you're in. Counterproductive office "games" are often subtle and subconscious, but they always leave clues.
Here are five tell-tale signs that a political game is being played:
Manipulation: There's a hidden agenda. Conversations are not what they seem on the surface.
Paradoxical Consequences: One person scores a short-term win, but the team or company takes a long-term loss.
Repetitiveness: You notice the same person using the same defensive or aggressive tactic every time a certain situation comes up.
Contagious Effect: Games are viral. When a game appears to "work" for one person, others often follow suit.
Group Activity: A game always requires two or more people to play—one person's game often triggers another's.
Once you learn to spot these signs, you can’t unsee them. You'll start to understand the real dynamics at play in your organization.
Your Player Guide: The 6 Characters You'll Meet
Now that you can see the game, you need to know the players. In any office, you’ll almost always encounter these six characters. Here’s how to handle them.
The Gossip Hound: Thrives on drama and rumors.
Your Play: Keep it professional. Never give them fuel, because they will use it to set you alight.The Backstabber: Smiles to your face, undermines you when you’re gone.
Your Play: Keep records. Create a paper trail and document every key decision.The Turf Warrior: Sees you as a threat to their territory.
Your Play: Show them how helping you benefits their own goals.The Credit Thief: Takes your ideas and passes them off as their own.
Your Play: Claim your wins publicly. Present your own work in meetings.The Resource Hoarder: Grabs more than their fair share of the budget, headcount, or time.
Your Play: Build a strong business case early and get leadership to back your requests.The Power Broker: Doesn't always have the biggest title, but has immense influence behind the scenes.
Your Play: Build a genuine relationship. They can be your biggest roadblock or your most powerful ally.
To win at office politics, you don’t have to sell your soul. The goal is to have a strategy so you don't have to.
Your First Quest
This week, your mission is simple: map your world. Make a list of five people in your organization you should build a stronger relationship with. Think power brokers, key influencers, and decision-makers.
Now, pick one person from that list to focus on. A "coffee date" isn't always the right first move. The right action depends on your current relationship.
Choose your next step based on where you are today:
If they are a stranger or you don't know them well... Your goal is to get on their radar by offering value with no strings attached. Try sending a short, simple email: "Hi [Name], I saw this article on [Topic] and thought of your work on the [Project Name] project. Figured you might find it interesting. All the best, [Your Name]."
If the relationship is frosty or neutral... Your goal is to rebuild a bridge by showing support. Find a way to publicly give them credit for something in a team meeting or a Slack channel. Or, look for a small opportunity to help them with one of their stated goals.
If you have a good, existing relationship... This is where the coffee invitation works perfectly. Reach out with a simple, no-agenda ask: "Hey [Name], it's been a while. Would you be open to grabbing a quick coffee next week to catch up?"
The principle is always the same, and it's one of the most important rules in office politics: make a deposit before you ever ask for a withdrawal.
Go to the Next Level
This playbook gives you the core strategies. But in this week's full YouTube video, "How to Play Office Politics and WIN," I unlock the advanced levels. You'll learn:
Four strategies to build genuine influence (without being a suck-up).
Three rules for staying neutral in conflicts so you don't get caught in the drama.
My personal story about being undermined by my own direct report (and the hard lessons I learned).
Things to Think About
📚 Read: 7 Rules of Power
Think "power" is a dirty word? This book will change your mind. It’s a fascinating look at why influence is essential to a successful career and how you can get things done without having to be ruthless. An absolute must-read if you're serious about advancing your career on your own terms.
🎧 Explore: The KAM Growth Machine Spotify Playlist.
I’ve curated a Spotify playlist of my all-time favourite podcast episodes for account managers. It’s a 32-episode deep dive into new ideas, professional skills, and challenging concepts to keep your brain buzzing on your commute or at the gym.
🛰️ Listen: Adam Grant on "How to Trust People You Don't Like"
This is a fantastic podcast episode on navigating difficult professional relationships... from astronauts in space. Seriously. It’s a surprisingly down-to-earth conversation with people who have literally trusted their lives to colleagues they didn't always get along with.
A Quick Note on the New Account Minded…
You might have noticed things look a little different around here. It's true! I've recently relaunched the newsletter with a fresh coat of paint and a sharper focus: to be the antidote to your overwhelm by delivering one simple, actionable system each week.
If you're curious, you can read the full story behind the changes here.
Hope this breakdown on office politics was useful for you. I'm always refining this list. Is there a 7th "player" you think I missed? Hit reply and let me know—the best ideas for new content come directly from readers like you
The game is always being played. Now you have the playbook to win it on your own terms.
All the best,
P.S. Struggling with a specific political situation at work? The KAM Club is where we do live coaching calls to unpack challenges just like this. Learn more here.