SMART QUESTIONS People Skills for Winning the Games of Career Success (& Office Politics!) |
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| Author:
| McGaulley, Michael |
| Series title: | Career Development Skills Ser. |
| ISBN: | 978-0-615-86810-3 |
| Publication Date: | Aug 2013 |
| Publisher: | Champlain House Media
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | USD $9.99 |
Book Description:
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"You've got to be aware of the games that are being played. You don't have to play the games yourself, but you do need to recognize when they are being played against you."-a federal executive to the author. The reality is that games, probes, and subtle competitions- and office politics! -are facts of life in most organizations. You're at a significant disadvantage in your quest for career success if you fail to spot these as games and respond appropriately....
More Description "You've got to be aware of the games that are being played. You don't have to play the games yourself, but you do need to recognize when they are being played against you."-a federal executive to the author.
The reality is that games, probes, and subtle competitions- and office politics! -are facts of life in most organizations. You're at a significant disadvantage in your quest for career success if you fail to spot these as games and respond appropriately.
Smart Questions is an ideal book for new graduates as well as for people who're ready to move to new levels within their careers.
There are not the games we play for fun, these are serious career games-secret, covert games that are played not for fun, but for keeps. Secret career games that the opposing players don't tell us are in play, nor what the rules are, nor even what "winning" consists of. People skills and social intelligence are key.
A key career development skill for success is developing the above-the-playing board perspective and savvy to look at your work and career as if it were a game. Interestingly, there's a new term coming into use more and more-"gamification"-that expresses that mindset of viewing career success as a game. In some cases, the game is about serious stuff like the organization's best direction forward. In others, it's about the struggle over budgets or promotions. In still others, it's just about office politics, as usual.
When you look at work as a success game, you'll begin noticing widespread game-like ploys like these:
--the use of probes and tests;
--strategic "disinformation" (i.e. saying or doing things to mislead opposing players on what you are up to);
--pretexting (using cover stories to conceal hidden agendas);
--covert actions, subterfuges, and other types of "sneaky stuff";
--phony emotions, either to "friend" you, or to intimidate you;
--sometimes operating through stand-ins. (Think of that the next time the boss asks you to sit in for her at a meeting: Maybe thiis isn't really a vote of confidence in you; maybe you're being set up to take the fire . . . and the fall.)
- and, of course, office politics in all its forms and nuances!
But if the other players don't tell us what the success rules are, nor even put a name to their game, then how do we survive and win these secret career success games? By making a habit of asking the right savvy, smart questions. In short, by developing social intelligence skills and relevant people skills.
What are those "smart questions"? What are the savvy questions that help you keep your focus when you encounter games, probes, ploys and manipulations? Is there a checklist of smart, savvy questions that will guide you to career success?
SMART QUESTIONS: People Skills for Winning the Games of Career Success (& Office Politics!) flows from the author's work as a lawyer and consultant to organizations in the United States and overseas, including the U.S. State Department, high tech firms, banks and others. In SMART QUESTIONS he distilled these insights into a checklist of 16 key questions-crucial tools for success in the career game.