Category: Office politics

The [overly] ambitious subordinate… look out

The other day I spoke to a friend, a regional director, where he’d been recently, how his new hires were doing, work chit-chat. He said that one new hire (working elsewhere in the region) was doing very well; smart guy, good pedigree and contacts, presents well and ‘made a contribution from day one.’ My friend…
Read more

5 reasons why the boss doesn’t develop new talent

I often grapple with clients who can’t seem to decide on whom to hire. I hear all sorts of reasons; the budget, the economy, quarterly earnings, changes in strategy, cultural fit, etc, ad nauseam. What it also means is that no decision is made. A search goes on that much longer, causing heartburn–if not burnout–for…
Read more

When the new job is a bad fit, who’s to blame?

My breakfast companion was talking about an organisation he’d recently joined. After the interviews and flights back to the US for final rounds, the job was his for the taking. He took it, but had done little due diligence or spoken much with the Asia team, mostly US HQ. He was given a big title,…
Read more

The lunatic boss

Ever worked for a lunatic? Not merely someone with a temper, but egomaniacal, unstable, who has all the power.. I have, and I daresay many of you have as well if you’ve worked long enough. Many years ago I worked with an Austrian who’d lived in Hong Kong for many years. He’d just been hired…
Read more

Mister Martyr

Some of my conversations are with people who have become martyrs at work, much as they doth protest otherwise. They’ll likely contact me to ‘explore the market’, busy with their job, trading off personal time–and reputation–for the good of the company. Not much left for themselves, and scant time to build their [professional] profile. Many…
Read more

Hi-po hi-po, it’s outta here I go..

High potentials, “hi-po’s”, ‘our future [company] leaders’ in business argot.. The ones corporations ululate over, often for sound reasons. If an organisation has strong internal talent, they should recognise, challenge, motivate, and grow them, allowing such people to flex their muscles whilst building the company. But companies often lose those they want to keep. Why…
Read more

Those corporate games, Part II

On to Part II, highlighting some of the games at work most of us have experienced, or participated in.. [framed_box] Selective editing Ubiquitous at the office,but some take it to heights that are pernicious or worse. Example: a report or presentation is due, and the only information presented is to support a certain point of…
Read more

Those corporate games, Part I

I thought it would be good to highlight some of the more consistent corporate political posturing that I see and hear. The point is NOT to say, “Ain’t it a shame that people behave so poorly,” but to make you cognizant of what may well be going on at work that you may either ignore…
Read more
All articles loaded
No more articles to load
Load more