Address peer Discussion below. Based on the best practices they provided, what are examples of the effects when these are not followed. You may use real situations (change any names to make the information anonymous) or give fictional example.

Part 1

Organizational politics is defined as behavior that the organization does not formally sanction. It is focused on maximizing self-interest and often at the organization's or other employees' expense. Political behaviors are aligned with tactical influence. For example, people who "play the game" seek to influence others to get ahead. Examples of political behaviors are self-promotion, strong influential tactics, coalition building, and taking credit for positive events and the success of others (Neck et al., 2020, pp. 383-390).

Political behaviors result in both negative and positive effects for individuals and organizations. The negative effects of organizational politics include employees' high stress levels, lower productivity, dissatisfaction, high employee turnover, and decreased productivity. The positive effects of organizational politics include employee performance and motivation (Guthrie, 2021). Therefore, political behaviors have a significant impact on organizational outcomes. It can become a negative force in organizations but can also be beneficial. Individuals with political skills are more likely to do better in gaining more personal power and having more influence on their peers (Jarrett, 2017).

According to Braddy & Campbell (2014), political skill is the ability to maximize and leverage relationships to achieve individual, team, and organizational goals. It is a leader's capability and challenges that they need to face that require working with, understanding, influencing, and motivating others. Leaders must demonstrate their political skills to define a clear direction and vision, align and provide resources to complete tasks and build employee commitment and engagement. The most common challenges organizations face are getting employees to collaborate effectively and developing talents. The best practices for managers and leaders to develop and improve their ability to maximize and leverage organizational politics effectively in order to achieve goals are as follows:

• Social Awareness:a leader's ability to perceptively observe others to understand their behaviors and motives.
• Interpersonal influence:a leader's ability to influence and engage others using a persuasive and charismatic interpersonal style.
• Networking:a leader's ability to build diverse relationship networks across and outside of the organization.
• Sincerity:a leader's ability to be forthright, open, honest, and genuine with others.

Leaders and managers should use these four political practices, as mentioned above, to navigate complex challenges. These four practices can be used to influence employees' and coworkers' perceptions to increase collaborations and develop talent. Therefore, leaders and managers who can effectively use political skills in the workplace will tend to enhance others' perceptions of their ability to lead their work groups or teams successfully. Effective use of political skills is also likely to help leaders and managers avoid displaying problems that can lead to career failure (Braddy & Campbell, 2014).

The culture and political environment of organizations begin with leadership. Leadership should display appropriate political behaviors to influence good behavior in the workplace. It is essential for leaders and managers to take notice and identify the root cause of issues if workplace politics are dividing their teams and organizations. Managers and leaders can minimize negative politics by encouraging transparency and collaboration among team members at all levels. Schooley (2023) provides some advice on how to break down the divisive walls of negative politics in the workplace. First, promote communication and transparency among the team members by holding regular meetings, town halls, and group lunches to ensure employees know the objective and encourage communication openly and honestly about the challenges that teams face. Second, leaders and managers should not tolerate political behavior. The overall organization objectives should measure everyone's success. Third, employees need to understand their roles and responsibilities and deliver organizational success. In other words, leaders and managers should clarify employee's responsibilities and demand accountability from all team members. When organizations have success, it should be recognized as a team win and a celebration of the success of those who contributed to it at all levels (Schooley, 2023).

Part 2

After taking self-assessment 13.1 (How Political Is My Organization), my organization scored 26. The only questions that scored below a 3 were questions 6, 7, and 8. The score of 26 indicates my organization is moderately political and suggests high levels of political skills and savvy may be helpful in certain situations in my organization. Based on the score, my current organization is less political than other workplaces I used to work for. I am proud to say that my organization is a harmonized workplace. We have fun working together as a team and often encourage and praise each other when someone does a good job. I consider myself an easygoing person. I love to care for and support others personally and in the workplace. In my experience, I am willing to give credit to my coworkers and my staff in whatever projects or tasks were completed. In my leadership role, I want to be a good manager who can understand others' behavior, help my staff to be happy and motivated, and influence them effectively to achieve goals.

References

Braddy, P., & Campbell, M. (2014). Using Political skill to maximize and leverage work relationships. Center for Creative Leadership