Be the peacemaker in organization Politics

Don’t dilute yourself in philosophy that your organization has no politics. Politics is part of every organization. Every company has internal politics. There is not an organization on earth (or space for that matter) that does not have to deal with politics. The degree of organizational politics varies from one organization to another but the reality is, all organizations have some sort of internal political struggle that can rip it apart. The bigger the organization – the “better”. Dealing with this struggle takes a keen awareness of the landscape, players and rules in which the political game is played.

People don’t like change. Most see it as a threat, a loss of their power or a loss of the security in the old way of doing things. They worry how the change will affect them and become apprehensive. These people are prone to defend the old way, some out of habit and out of unease. Knowing how to deal with these situations is challenging. The reality of any organization with more than one person is that politics is the lubricate that oils your organizations internal gears. Apply the proper lubricate and things will work fine. Forget to lubricate it and your organization will grind to a halt. 

Everyone will tell you the right way to design a business process – is by designing it around the business procedure, not around people. But in real life you find that you need to “bend” the process around political obstacles. The task should go to head of the department for his review. But everyone knows that Mister X needs to be bypassed. Sometimes it’s because he is a slacker, he will never do the task, he has been in the organization for years, he doesn’t care about the “procedure” and there is no one to discipline him. Sometimes it’s because he is too powerful and can get away with murder. In any case, trying to force the process to make him do the tasks will end in tears. The best way is to bypass.

Managing the political atmosphere in a business takes willingness to acknowledge the practice and a method for avoiding the gamesmanship. Politics generally refers to the tactics used to position yourself through relationship manipulation. The best way to survive business politics is to stay away from it. Avoid contributing to the rumor mill. Do not pass on information unrelated to your job. The person who told you the secret is not counting on you to keep your mouth shut. He is likely telling you so that you can share with others and further the political game. Staying out of the chain will make it more difficult for the rumor to spread while displaying yourself as a person unwilling to add to the problem.
Deal your co-corkers evenly. Avoid aligning yourself with certain colleagues or espousing the "that's not my responsibility" mantra. Keep the team goals ahead of interpersonal affairs, and contribute to all company goals to the best of your ability. 

The influence of confessing when you are incorrect is rarely assumed. When used appropriately, it disperses a politically stimulating circumstance within an immediate. The trick is to use it cautiously since if you are wrong too often, people will start to question your competence. It’s best that you get the reputation of someone who finds solutions to tricky problems. Being the peacemaker is one way to achieve that. Peacemakers are looked at favorably because they transcend the politics and focus on making progress. By promoting a positive culture that values integrity, respect and fairness within their team, the leader is able to channel people's interests and energy away from negative political interplay and towards an alignment with organization objectives. Allowing team members to express their interests and demonstrating a commitment to support individual needs integrates their fulfillment into the work organization and promotes the positive resolution of political conflicts.

Source: thedailyMBA