The past few months have brought uncertainty to the federal workforce. Amid the chaos, workers hope to stand out in the best ways and to make themselves indispensable. Although those efforts can be successful, they can also be a breeding ground for negative internal politics — the dynamics and social interactions within an organization.
During GovLoop’s May 21 NextGen Summit, Javier Inclán, Assistant Inspector General for Management at the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Office of Inspector General, offered strategies for being a stand-out employee, and Cardell Johnson, Director of the Natural Resource and Environment Team and Acting Managing Director of Continuous Process Improvement at the Government Accountability Office, explained how to avoid creating drama in the process.
Be Outstanding at Standing Out
We’ve all thought — or even said aloud — “but that’s not part of my job description.” While true, that might not be the best attitude right now, Inclán said: “I think in this day and age, we need to raise our hands. We need to raise our hand and say, ‘Hey, what could I do in light of potential human capital resource reductions or increased mission or change of priorities?’”
View it as an opportunity. When two human resources executives left NSF, the chief operating officer asked Inclán to fill in even though he had no HR experience. “I would have never had the opportunity to learn about all those things…[if] I would have declined that opportunity, and I probably wouldn’t be in the position I am today,” he said.
He offered another perspective, too: Stepping up now could lead to a promotion later. “I could say, ‘Hey, I have a little experience. Remember when I did this for four months? I think I could do that now,’” Inclán said. “It really is going to give [supervisors] the unique view that somebody really wants to do their job, do it well, but continue to progress so that they have the skill sets they need to progress and help the mission going forward.”
Still, be mindful about overextending yourself. Balance is important, he said. If it’s your busy season, tell your boss you want to help but won’t have the bandwidth for X number of weeks or months. Or ask if you could shift priorities.
“I appreciate when an employee comes to me and says, ‘Hey, I really appreciate the opportunity. Thank you so much. I’m at this bandwidth point, and I’m really full. Is there anything you don’t want me to do or don’t need me to do right now so that I could focus on these new priorities?’” Inclán said. “There’s a difference between sucking up and being genuine, and I think a good supervisor will be able to flesh out which one is the first one and which one’s the second one.”
Avoid Internal Politics
Coworkers might see your offers as jockeying or manipulative, however, and that can create a workplace environment charged with internal politics. When that happens, “let’s change our mindset,” Johnson said. “Think about it from a better place. What it really comes down to is about navigating unspoken systems of influence, trust and perception that exist in every organization…. This is a way in which we try to move ideas and work through systems of power and personalities.”
He offered four tips for staying out of the fray:
- Personally engage with coworkers and supervisors to get to know their values and then frame work-related conversations around those values to achieve your goal.
- Check your assumptions. Do a quick self-assessment to determine that you have all the information you need to understand a task or someone’s role. If not, ask the appropriate parties. “When you start getting into that discussion, you learn a lot more,” Johnson said.
- Avoid gossip and triangulation. Triangulation happens when “someone comes to you to check the temperature on someone else instead of going to the source,” he said. “It might seem harmless, but it quietly erodes trust…. Redirect those conversations by saying things like, ‘That sounds like something that you might want to bring directly to’” so-and-so.
- Build genuine relationships. “This is the mistake that a lot of people make: They’re like, ‘I’m building a relationship because I want something,’” Johnson said. “Take step back from that. We build the relationship genuinely.… When you show them that you [have a] service-oriented mindset, folks are then going to start advocating [for you].”
Ultimately, internal politics thrive in chaos, so any time there’s an opportunity to simplify a plan, objective or assignment, take it. “Here’s the secret: Every single time, clarity cuts through the chaos,” Johnson said. “Simplify the goals, simplify the priority. That is really going to help people not feel too overwhelmed.”
The trick to navigating internal politics is that it’s a learned skill, requiring the development of emotional intelligence, strategic communication and leadership, he added. “Most of us weren’t trained to navigate internal politics…. I learned how to stay neutral without being invisible, I learned how to lead without a title, and I learned how to keep people focused on a purpose and not personalities.”
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