Philip Saal - July 12, 2012

The political environment at all levels at the moment is looking very volatile. We have at the Federal level conflict over who should be leader, at the State level which party should lead and individuals fighting it out for local council. Conversations about politics always conjure up many emotions. People have strong opinions about who should lead or what party should be in power. I learned from an early age not to bring up politics in conversation because no doubt you are going to create conflict along the way, especially when the in-laws are around.

I thought instead I would give you an insight into office politics, Power Tynan style. We have the accountants, which we will call the “Beige” party, financial planners and Stockbrokers, the “Star” party, Superannuation Team, “Retirement Party”, and the Finance Brokers, the “Debt Party” (guess which party I belong to). The inter “party jokes” are always around, as is the discussion of who works the hardest, who has the best coffee machine and which morning teas are the best. You can even nearly tell which party you belong to by the type of vehicle you drive.

Now even within these sanctions you have differing layers of management, professionals, administration staff and trainees. Communication can be difficult, so developing new methods is important. This has led to the creation of our own corporate Facebook page to help connect to the new generation. Office politics will never go away; it’s a fact of life. The key is to create the same culture across all parties.

Breaking down the barriers within organisations is not easy; you cannot possibly cater for every individual’s needs. Policies and strategies need to be uniform across the whole organisation, creating one vision that the one team is trying to achieve. The results, if you get it right, will include better productivity, increased turnover, and a friendlier working environment.