Each player in the organization has a role in the politics that move wheels of getting things done. No one can escape politics and that’s why it’s important to determine who the players are and what power they wield. Any organization, whether it’s all volunteer or a corporation, will have several of the following political players:
- The boss: is the person that’s in charge of the organization. Usually, they make the final decision and are who people are trying to achieve favor with.
- 2nd in command: is being trained for the boss’s job and has a significant amount of political clout with the boss.
- The yes man: pretty much always agrees with the boss, even if it’s the wrong thing to do. Yes men get to their position by catering to what every boss deep down wants — to always be right.
- The curmudgeon: is always looking at the downside of everything. Nothing is ever good enough or “like we used to do it.” The curmudgeon has political power but it’s usually narrowly focused.
- The vortex: always creates drama and wants to suck everyone to their side, even if it’s down the path to disaster. Their typical MO is to say they just want to be helpful and make sure every option is explored but what they really want to do is slow things way down and push their own agenda.
- The empire builder: loves the political power of having lots of people. They use this power to grab even more power and will not stop until they are the boss.
- The peacemaker: wants everyone to get along and work together in harmony. Usually, they have a ton of political power because they are perceived as having the best interest of the company in mind.
- The brain: knows everything and is purely data driven. Politicians usually avoid the brain because the entire company knows how smart they are.
- The rubber chicken: is hard to pin down and always has a “what if”. They are rubber chickens because they squeak a lot but don’t really say much.
- The parrot: will steal someone else’s idea as their own. They also tend to have no real opinion other than the “right” opinion of the day and will parrot that all around the company.
One thing to remember is that people can and do change their roll, depending on the situation. It’s not uncommon for a yes man to be the boss in certain circumstances or even being the brainchild or even a peacemaker. The essence of the situation should always dictate a re-examination of the players and how they fit into the landscape. The essential item to remember is that people will fall into several different modes, depending on their attitudes and political prowess.