I lost $200k in startup equity with a 1-year vesting because I did not understand office politics.
I hate politics on any level but as I’ve grown older, I have come to realize that politics exists everywhere – At work, at home, in relationships, in church, recreational activities etc. We like to turn a blind eye to it but it exists, the best thing you can do for yourself is to understand it and how to navigate
According to Wikipedia, Politics is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources.
Be seen
My first global role was in 2020 when I joined Celo as the Africa Growth Lead. I was used to working in small teams of 5 – 10, where my work was very visible to everyone without having to shout about it. I took that mindset to my new job, where there were close to 200 people.
I was crushing it with partnerships, marketing, community etc but I wasn’t sharing my results with the team. After 3 months, my manager told me to share the work we talked about in our 1:1 but I thought it was a one-time thing. She said it as diplomatic as possible so I did not fully grasp what she meant.
My manager automatically assumed I was an underperformer while other colleagues I was working with on projects were heaping praises on me. After spending 6 months, all of my colleagues who resumed same time as me but reported to different managers all got token equity worth about $200k except me
It was clear to me what happened, a year after I joined, my contract was not renewed. After I left, all the gaps I had filled started to show but it was already too late
You need to be visibly seen in the organization, it all starts with turning on your camera during company calls and letting people see your face regularly. Ask questions during team meetings & contribute ideas no matter how small, and offer to help on projects. Participate in the small talks and most importantly, make sure to share the progress & results of your work with the team in a manner that doesn’t make you seem too forward but rather share as a documentary and touchpoints of data for colleagues to pick from and build on
Communicate clearly & politely
Your team/manager/colleagues might have different expectations, so one of the things you want to tackle really early on is to figure out what is the team OKRs and what is expected of you to be termed a success
You’re appreciated when you do things that drive the business forward, you might think what drives the business is Advertising & Customer acquisition when the company really needs customer retention & activation. You can only figure this out when you properly communicate with your team and align with all stakeholders
Make life easier for your colleagues & be dependable
People naturally & subconsciously have a positive bias for folks who make their lives easier at work. They choose people who break the wall & path for them.
Make it a habit of trying to make certain repeatable resources, ideas, detected highlights or data available to your team. It makes you super dependable and likeable at work. For example, Suppose you made a customized excel/google sheet that automatically makes everyone’s data entry work easier. In that case, you’ve saved them a ton of time and they’ll subconsciously think of you as a problem solver. Your colleagues will gradually gravitate towards you as a leader and ensure you stay on their good side
Managing your manager & Making your manager look good
Everyone reports to somebody in every organization, whoever you report to will be the one to speak for you in the rooms where opportunities, layoffs, promotions, and bonuses are discussed. This person is super important to your role in your company
However, every manager has different management styles. You have 1) Leaders – who give you the vision of where the organization is heading, they give you the resources you need and give you the room to figure it out. 2) Typical Managers – They want constant updates, they schedule 1:1s to follow up with your progress and try to see where they can help you, provide feedback in order to hit your goals
These two categories are both wonderful managers, they have different ways of approaching & working with them. You need to understand where your manager fit in and understand how to deal with them
For example, Leaders need to be chased down and provided with updates, while typical managers have to be provided with broken-down reports of your progress so they know where to provide feedback
One of the best books I have read on dealing with Managers is How to Manage Your Manager by Managing Yourself by Kevin Mixon (P.S I listened to the audiobook, its about 2 hours). I highly recommend it
Navigating office politics is not a power play, its understanding how to be on the good side of your colleagues & management because if they all don’t like you, you’re out of the door since no one likes to work with people they hate