On (Workplace) Politics

We love the idea that our field is a pure meritocracy.

We love to believe the best ideas naturally rise to the top, the most skilled developers get promoted, and politics is just noise that interferes with “real work.”

This belief is deeply ingrained in engineering culture, where technical prowess is revered and anything resembling political maneuvering is dismissed as manipulation.

Well, engineering has never been an apolitical meritocracy. Research from the University of Michigan shows that the view of engineering as purely technical creates major barriers to inclusion and equity because it ignores the social and political dimensions that inevitably shape every technical decision.

Politics: The Invisible Force Shaping Every Decision

Every organization runs on politics - the informal networks of relationships, influence, and power that exist alongside formal hierarchies. You can refuse to acknowledge this reality, but that doesn’t make it disappear. It just means important decisions get made without your input.

Think about the last time a questionable technical decision got pushed through at your company. Maybe it was adopting an overcomplicated architecture, choosing a vendor everyone knew was wrong, or killing a promising project. The issue likely wasn’t that decision-makers were incompetent - it’s that the people with the right technical knowledge weren’t in the room when it mattered.

Meanwhile, someone who understood organizational dynamics was there, building coalitions, presenting compelling arguments, and demonstrating they’d done their homework. Their idea won not necessarily because it was better, but because they understood how to navigate the system while others remained “too pure” for politics.

The Four Dimensions of Political Skill

Political skill in organizations isn’t about scheming or manipulation. It’s a legitimate competency with four key dimensions that every technical leader should develop:

Social astuteness involves accurately reading social cues, understanding others’ motivations, and recognizing power dynamics within the organization. For engineers, this means paying attention to stakeholder concerns beyond just technical requirements.

Interpersonal influence is the ability to adapt your communication style to persuade different audiences effectively. This is crucial when explaining technical decisions to non-technical stakeholders or building support for architectural changes.

Networking ability means developing strategic relationships both within and outside your organization. Those coffee chats with colleagues from other teams aren’t just socializing; they’re building the relationships that enable future collaboration.

Apparent sincerity involves demonstrating authenticity and trustworthiness through consistent actions. Technical credibility combined with reliable follow-through builds the foundation for organizational influence.

Good Politics vs. Bad Politics

As with any competency, this can be used in different ways, so the key distinction isn’t between political and non-political behavior. It’s between constructive and destructive political behavior. Good workplace politics involve acceptable ways of getting recognition for your contributions, having your ideas taken seriously, and influencing what other people think and what decisions get made.

Good politics in engineering looks like:

• Building relationships before you need them, so you have advocates when proposing technical changes
• Understanding what actually motivates stakeholders and framing technical proposals accordingly
• Managing up effectively by keeping leadership informed about what matters and flagging problems early with solutions
• Creating win-win situations where helping other teams also advances your technical goals
• Making your excellent work visible through design documents, presentations, and knowledge sharing

Bad politics involves:

• Manipulating information or people for personal gain
• Taking credit for others’ work or undermining colleagues
• Making decisions based on personal relationships rather than merit
• Creating unnecessary conflict or drama
• Using influence purely for self-promotion rather than organizational benefit
  

Political Avoidance

When engineers refuse to engage with organizational politics, they pay a steep price:

• Their good ideas get ignored while inferior solutions advance.
• Their teams lose resources to more politically savvy groups.
• They become frustrated with “irrational” decisions without recognizing their role in enabling those outcomes.
  

Research shows that politically skilled individuals are more likely to be recognized for their contributions, secure promotions, and have successful careers. They’re also more effective at building high-performing teams and driving innovation because they understand how to mobilize organizational resources.

The alternative to good politics isn’t no politics! It’s bad politics winning by default.

When competent engineers opt out, they leave the field to those who may be less qualified but more willing to play the game.

Political Skills for Technical Leaders

The most effective technical leaders are highly political - they just don’t call it that. They use terms like “stakeholder management,” “building alignment,” and “organizational awareness.” But these are political skills, and mastering them is essential for technical leadership success.

Stakeholder management requires identifying all parties affected by technical decisions, understanding their motivations, and tailoring communication strategies accordingly. This isn’t manipulation - it’s ensuring that technical solutions actually solve business problems.

Building consensus involves finding common ground among groups with different priorities and constraints. Technical leaders who excel at this create buy-in for their initiatives and reduce implementation friction.

Managing up means keeping leadership informed about technical realities, risks, and opportunities in language they understand. Leaders who do this effectively protect their teams from unrealistic demands and secure resources for important work.

Closing Words

It’s time to abandon the false dichotomy between technical excellence and political engagement. The best engineers understand that technology is built by humans, for humans, within human organizations. Ignoring the human dimensions doesn’t make you more technical. It makes you less effective.

Political skill isn’t about becoming manipulative or sacrificing your values. It’s about becoming strategic in how you build relationships and exercise influence to achieve better outcomes for your team and organization.

When used ethically, political skills enable technical leaders to protect good ideas, advocate for their teams, and drive meaningful innovation.

Stop pretending you’re above politics. The stakes are too high, and the alternative - letting bad politics dominate by default - serves no one’s interests, least of all those who care most about technical excellence.