Services

Socially astute managers are good at reading people’s non-verbal behaviors and can intuitively sense the motivations of others. By being more perceptive of yourself and others in social situations, you can improve your self-awareness and better interpret others’ behaviors.

Those who are effective at exerting interpersonal influence on others build strong interpersonal relationships through establishing good rapport, communicating well, and getting others to like them. By becoming more comfortable with your interpersonal leadership power, you can improve your judgment and know when to assert yourself — resulting in more cooperative relationships. Skilled influencers are not always overtly political; they just play the political game fairly and effortlessly.

Leaders who possess a strong networking ability build friendships and beneficial working relationships by garnering support, negotiating, and managing conflict. Skilled networkers know when and how to leverage others to obtain the needed resources to accomplish both personal and organizational tasks. They’re also seen as willing to reciprocate and have a network perspective.

Leaders with political savvy have impulse control. They tend to choose their organizational battles wisely and size up situations before deciding how to present ideas to others. Managers who actually consider whether or not to voice a thought or a feeling, and who are thoughtful about the timing and presentation of what they have to say, are less likely to derail their careers.

Leaders need to be able to skillfully communicate with their bosses, higher-ups, and so on. But political savvy also involves maintaining good relationships with people at all levels in the organization. Our research shows that people who are especially skilled at “managing up” tend to put so much energy into their bosses’ needs that they neglect to lead their own teams — so balance here is key.

Politically skilled individuals display high levels of integrity, authenticity, sincerity, and genuineness. They are — or appear to be — honest, open, and forthright, inspiring trust and confidence. So to sharpen your political savvy, be genuine with everyone in your organization. If you try too hard, your co-workers will see right through it. Be an authentic leader.