The Dirty Truth About Office Politics
(Why Pretending You’re “Above It” Is Career Suicide)
“You may not take an interest in politics, but politics will take an interest in you.” — Pericles
Every office is a political ecosystem — alliances, power plays, quiet deals in Slack DMs. Most professionals would rather chew glass than admit they’re part of it. They tell themselves, “I don’t do office politics.” Translation: “I’ve decided to bring a knife to a gunfight.”
Ignoring politics doesn’t make it go away; it just makes you easier to outmaneuver. Office politics isn’t the corruption of business — it is business. The flow of power, influence, and information determines who gets promoted, who gets heard, and who gets the resources to make things happen. Pretend it’s not there, and you’re volunteering to play the role of the pawn in someone else’s strategy.
Welcome to the game. You’re in it whether you like it or not.
Rule #1: Everyone’s Playing, Especially the Ones Who Say They Aren’t
The coworker who swears they “hate politics” is often the one playing it best. They’re not campaigning — they’re networking in stealth mode. They “just happen” to grab lunch with the VP. They “volunteer” to lead the team offsite or take notes in the exec meeting. On paper, they’re being helpful. In reality, they’re building visibility and goodwill — the currency of internal power.
My rule of thumb: don’t watch what people say, watch what they do.
Notice who always seems to know what’s coming before it’s announced. That’s not luck — that’s political intelligence. It’s awareness of informal power structures. The people who know who’s aligned with whom, who’s on the outs, and who’s quietly being groomed for promotion aren’t gossiping — they’re mapping the terrain.
👉 Takeaway: The people who claim to “hate politics” are often the ones running the board.
Rule #2: Politics Is Just Influence — and Influence Drives Everything
Let’s drop the moral pretense. Politics isn’t evil. It’s the human operating system for distributing scarce resources: attention, budget, authority. You can call it “alignment,” “relationship management,” or “cross-functional influence” if it helps you sleep at night — it’s still politics.
When you convince your boss to prioritize your project, that’s politics. When you get buy-in from marketing on your hiring plan, politics. When you rally the team behind a new idea, politics.
The difference between manipulation and leadership is intent. Manipulation serves you. Leadership serves the mission. But both require navigating power. The trick is to do it with integrity — understand the players, manage the relationships, and use your influence to advance ideas worth fighting for.
Refusing to engage in politics because it feels “dirty” is like refusing to use money because capitalism feels unfair. You can take that stance — but you’ll still be broke.
Rule #3: Competence Isn’t Enough
High performers often delude themselves into thinking great work speaks for itself. It doesn’t. It whispers — and half the room isn’t listening.
Every company has a graveyard of brilliant, competent people who got bypassed because someone else told a better story.
Visibility matters. Advocacy matters. Alignment matters.
You don’t need to be a backstabber or sycophant, but you do need to make sure people know the value you’re creating. If you don’t shape your own narrative, someone else will — and they’ll use it to promote themselves at your expense.
A senior exec once told me, “The difference between who gets promoted and who doesn’t? It’s not output — it’s ownership of perception.” Brutal, but true.
👉 Takeaway: Competence gets you in the door. Politics determines how far you climb.
Rule #4: Power Flows Through Trust
Politics isn’t just about proximity to power — it’s about trust. Who do the decision-makers believe, confide in, and rely on when the stakes are high?
People underestimate how much career momentum comes from being seen as reliable under pressure. The colleague who can be trusted with sensitive information, who delivers without fanfare, who stays calm in the storm — that person becomes indispensable.
This is the quiet form of politics — reputation capital. It compounds like interest. Each time you act with integrity, each time you protect someone’s confidence or deliver on a promise, you’re making a deposit. When you need political cover — when a project fails, or a promotion’s on the line — you withdraw from that account.
Trust is the ultimate political currency. The louder someone demands it, the less of it they usually have.
Rule #5: Pick Your Battles, Then Win Them Quietly
The politically savvy don’t fight every fight — they pick the ones that matter and align them with shared interests.
They know that every conflict leaves residue. Argue too often, and people stop listening. Yield too often, and people stop respecting you. The art lies in being selective — making small concessions publicly, while securing big wins privately.
The most dangerous person in an organization isn’t the one with the biggest title; it’s the one who can quietly influence outcomes without anyone realizing it was their idea.
In politics — office or otherwise — perception is power. Be strategic in how you express dissent. Disagree publicly when it reinforces your credibility or aligns you with respected allies. Handle the rest in private.
👉 Takeaway: Politics rewards precision, not volume.
Rule #6: Be Kind, But Not Naïve
Nice people finish last when they confuse kindness with passivity. The office saint who “just wants everyone to get along” usually ends up carrying everyone else’s work.
Kindness is treating people with respect. Naïveté is expecting them to return the favor.
The modern workplace is full of people who weaponize charm — they’ll flatter you while positioning themselves ahead of you. You don’t have to play dirty, but you do have to keep your eyes open.
Protect your boundaries. Document your wins. Give credit, but don’t surrender ownership. Remember: being “nice” doesn’t mean being forgettable.
Rule #7: Politics Isn’t About Power Over — It’s About Power With
The best political players aren’t Machiavellian villains. They’re connectors. They align interests, bridge silos, and create momentum around shared goals.
If you think about politics as zero-sum — someone wins, someone loses — you’ll burn out fast. The most effective leaders play a collaborative game: “If I make you look good, we both rise.”
They don’t just collect allies; they build coalitions. That’s the difference between influence that evaporates and influence that compounds.
Real political power isn’t domination — it’s gravitational pull. People orbit around those who make things happen.
Rule #8: Play the Long Game
Short-term political wins — credit theft, rumor-spreading, performative loyalty — feel satisfying in the moment but come with compound interest in resentment.
Reputations are built over years and destroyed in an afternoon.
The best players play slow. They think in seasons, not sprints. They invest in relationships before they need them. They defend people who aren’t in the room. They stay consistent when everyone else is chasing the next shiny thing.
When layoffs hit, when budgets tighten, when leadership changes — these are the people who survive and thrive. Because when the dust settles, everyone remembers who acted with integrity when it was unpopular.
Rule #9: If You Don’t Manage Politics, Politics Will Manage You
You can despise the game, but you can’t escape it. Politics isn’t a choice — it’s an environment.
Learning to navigate it doesn’t make you fake; it makes you effective. You’re not manipulating people — you’re managing human systems.
If you’re an operator who wants to scale your impact, you need to understand how decisions actually get made — not how the org chart says they get made. Who gets looped in early? Who gets credit? Who gets protected when things go sideways? Those are the questions that reveal power.
The people who win aren’t necessarily the smartest — they’re the most situationally aware.
The Game Is Rigged — Learn the Rules Anyway
Pericles was right: even if you don’t take an interest in politics, politics will take an interest in you.
You can either learn to play the game with integrity, or you can let others play it for you.
Politics isn’t about manipulation — it’s about mastery. It’s about understanding that every organization runs on human dynamics: trust, ego, ambition, fear, and respect.
The people who rise aren’t the ones who shout the loudest or network the hardest. They’re the ones who can balance competence with connection. Execution with empathy. Strategy with humility.
Office politics isn’t the disease — it’s the diagnosis. It reveals who understands the true anatomy of power.
So stop pretending you’re above it. Step into it. Learn the rules, keep your integrity, and play to win.
Because whether you like it or not — you’re already on the board.
Let’s go.
Hi, I’m Brian Fink, the author of Talk Tech To Me. If you like how I write, preorder my newest book, Talk Tech To Me 2.0 available October 13th, 2025.
