Political Landscape Notes

Trace one real decision from where it was shaped to where it was announced, map the groups that protect something, write down the rules nobody wrote down, and turn it into a few deliberate relationship moves.

Research on organizational politics is strong (Pfeffer, 1992); this notes format is practitioner craft for capturing what that work says matters: informal power, coalitions and unwritten rules. The row counts and the monthly review are rules of thumb.

Use it when:

• You are new in an organization, or new at a level where decisions are made differently.
• Good proposals of yours have stalled and you cannot see why.
• You are about to launch something that cuts across several groups' budgets or territory.

Skip it when:

• You need a plan for one initiative and its stakeholders: use 3.1 Stakeholder Map.
• The problem is one hard relationship with your own manager: use 9.6 Difficult Manager Playbook.

Organizational politics is not a pathology but the normal condition of organizations: when people genuinely disagree and resources are scarce, decisions get made through power and influence, not through analysis alone. Pfeffer (1992) argues that managers who treat politics as beneath them do not escape it; they lose at it, because a decision is only as good as your ability to get it implemented. The research on perceived politics and political skill is strong; this notes format is practitioner craft.

The limit is ethical and practical at once. A political map drifts easily into gossip, and candid judgments about named colleagues can hurt you and them if they are found. So the page is built as disciplined observation: Step 1 starts from one real decision rather than from impressions, Step 2 describes groups by what they protect, Step 3 records rules rather than people, and Step 4 turns it all into moves you would be comfortable explaining. Review it monthly, because a stale map is more dangerous than none.

Pick a recent decision that affected your work. Write where it was formally made, and where and by whom (role) it was actually shaped. Use roles throughout this page, not names.

Strong answer: "Formally: the management team approved the new shift pattern in March. Really: the production director and the union representative agreed the outline over two pre-meetings; the management team meeting took ten minutes." Not: "Management decided."

The decision:

Where it was formally made:

Where it was really shaped, and by which roles:

Who has to be involved for a decision like this to stick:

Who can block it (veto player):

Who can fast-track it:

Illustrative example: the organization, the roles and the details are made up.

A newly promoted logistics manager at a Swedish building-materials wholesaler has seen two proposals stall.

Step 1: the move to a new warehouse system was formally approved by the management team, but shaped earlier in two meetings between the CFO and the head of sales. The head of sales can block anything that touches delivery times; the CFO can fast-track anything with a clear payback.

Step 2: Sales protects delivery promises to big customers and controls the key accounts; aligned with the CEO, at odds with logistics over rush orders. Work with it: show the effect on delivery reliability first. Finance protects the investment budget; work with it: bring a payback estimate.

Step 3: rewarded: fixing problems quietly. Punished: surprising the head of sales in a meeting. Landmine: proposing changes to rush-order rules without sales present; avoid by drafting them together.

Step 4: gaps are sales and finance. Moves: a ride-along with a key account manager this month; a payback walk-through with the controller before the next proposal; a joint draft of rush-order rules with sales by the end of the quarter.