But If You Pretend There Isn’t One – You’ll Definitely Lose.
Leadership doesn’t shield you from politics. If anything, it puts you right in the eye of the storm.
And how you navigate that storm? That defines your credibility more than you might think.
I hear it all the time in conversations with senior leaders at a career crossroads. What they’re bringing up lately isn’t deliverables or strategic scope.
It’s politics.
- A promotion that feels more precarious than powerful
- Visibility that feels threatening, not strategic
- Rooms they’re left out of – or impotent in.
- Peers who act more like competitors
The commonality means these aren’t outliers.They’re patterns.
And they seem to be getting louder.
Political Skill Isn’t Optional.
But It Is Learnable.
In organisational psychology, political skill is recognised as a research-backed competency.
It’s not about manipulation.
Not about game-playing. Not even about results.
It’s about:
- Social astuteness
- Values-led influence
- Reading the room
- Building trust with intention – and compassion
Leaders with strong political skill are seen as more effective, experience less ambiguity, and handle change with more clarity and less stress.
So no – you don’t need to play dirty.
But yes – you do need to play smart.
A Story That Stuck With Me
One leader I coach inherited a team after a restructure. He did everything “right”:
- Took time to observe
- Spotted what needed changing
- Identified how best to add value
Then he moved – determined to get things working the way they had in his previous (high-performing) team.
But he missed something.
There was one team member who seemed to be in everything.
Every meeting. Every project. Every conversation.
So he went there first. Challenged the behaviour.
Shut it down.
What he didn’t do was ask why.
And that mattered.
Because what he hadn’t yet seen was this:
No one else on the team was taking ownership.
That team member wasn’t overstepping.
They were propping the whole system up.
By shutting them down without curiosity, he didn’t just crush their motivation.
He squashed the team’s psychological safety too.
And suddenly…
Nothing happened.
Contributions dried up. Criticisms sped up.
People smiled politely, but said nothing real and executed even less.
On the surface: polite and professional.
Underneath: (deeply) political.
And guess who that reflected on!
That’s the cost of not reading the room before you try to lead it.
So How Do You Lead When Politics Are In Play?
Here’s what psychology-smart, values-led leadership looks like:
1. Read the Room Before You Lead It
Politics = people.
Status, trust, power – it’s always in play.
Not just in meetings, but in calendar invites, corridor chats, and who’s copied in (or shut out).
Ignore this, and you’ll lose access to rooms you don’t even realise you’re not in.
2. Influence With Intention
- Build allies, not empires
- Be visible on purpose – not for performance
- Say strategic yeses – not people-pleasing ones
This is what I call leading sideways.
It’s where real influence gets built – when team dynamics are fluid, agile and everything is possible.
3. Handle Cliques with Coalitions
Cliques reduce creativity, heighten exclusion, and dampen innovation.
And neuroscience tells us exclusion activates the same part of the brain as physical pain.
So if you’ve felt that sting of being left out – you weren’t imagining it. It’s in your nervous system.
You don’t need to confront cliques head-on.
You can build broader.
Cultivate your own trusted coalition of allies.
That’s where influence begins. When you build one you can take problems to.
Let Me Ask You This
Where in your leadership are you quietly opting out – because the politics feel too complex to navigate?
And what might shift if you chose to approach those dynamics with clarity, curiosity and intention?
Because leadership isn’t about pretending politics don’t exist.
It’s about navigating them – so you don’t end up stuck, silenced, or sidelined.
If this read resonates, I share more psychology-smart leadership strategies in my weekly newsletter – along with exclusive invitations to join a monthly conversation, and offers for my inner circle.
If you’re already at a career crossroads and want to talk it through, let’s talk.
