Can office politics ever be positive?

Just say the word “Office Politics” – you sense the disdain. Quite obvious if we see the downside (pursuing own agenda regardless of what's good for colleagues or the company) of it.

But this is also true “Nobody exists in an atmosphere where everybody agrees”.

Politics is the art of trying to accomplish things within organizations – but:-
1. The intent should be to bring in competitiveness (Each person is interesting if you are interested enough to ask the right question)
2. Ensure Nobody wins unless everybody wins
3. Success always creates Opposition. Try to find out who opposes them, how deep the opposition is - Don't just ask for opinions; change them
4. Focus on the ‘goal’ (organisational not personal) not on the ‘relationship’
5. Maybe you’re still thinking of being the person at the office who abstains from office politics. Realize that you won’t last long - in the office, that is. Putting your head down and doing your work is a good way to ensure that you don’t connect with anyone. This situation is deadly in a world where people are hired for what they know and fired for who they are. People need to get to know you in order to like you.

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Responsibility vs. Accountability

1. Responsibility sometimes becomes a burden: A duty, obligation or liability to carry forward an assigned task to a successful conclusion. With responsibility goes authority to direct and take the necessary action to ensure success. (How did you overlook this defect? That was your responsibility!)

2. To become ‘accountable’ is something driven internally – where your mind / heart is.

You can make a person responsible but can't make them accountable.

Accountability requires ‘commitment’ / ‘sense of ownership’.
Commitment comes from ‘self interest and confidence’.
‘Interest and confidence’ comes from ‘motivation and empowerment’.

So the bottom-line is "Empowerment and Motivation" makes a responsible person ‘accountable’.

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Thought on *Independence* !

Inspiration:-
A line from Sashi Tharoor’s post (http://www.hindustantimes.com/The-ideas-of-India/Article1-586837.aspx) – “In the six-plus decades since Independence, democracy has failed to create a single political community….”.

My thoughts ….
This is an “Independent thought” on “Thought on Independence”. [don’t link with Independence DAY.]

At Mass Level [Independence means *Inter-dependence*] :-
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We need to differentiate between “Individual Rights … Freedom” and “Responsibility … sense of duty.. obligations”. We have all the *rights* to walk anywhere on the road – BUT at the same time we need to follow the traffic rules. Right? With the *rights* we lose the firmness, whereas *obligations* brings in humility.. modesty and creates atmosphere for others to live.

Individual freedom has to be limited i.e. “Nobody exists in an atmosphere where everybody exists”.
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At an Individual Level :-
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Thought; originated from mind has never been under anybody’s control… a torch to move on.

Think for a while ! what happens if thoughts are curtailed, no freedom for expression, when Individuality is suppressed ? – Simply a setback to humanity by impeding development.

Do we carry any advocacy, biography..chronicle.. which has been “built to LAST” ?

So, independence is a luxury that one cannot afford to pay and individuality is the sole reason behind creativity, the root of innovation and hence development.
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Gandhiji's thought...
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Normally, political systems are largely hierarchical, with increasing levels of authority over the layer below. BUT, Gandhi believed that society should be the exact opposite, where nothing is done without the consent of anyone, down to the individual. His idea was that true self-rule in a country means that every person rules his or herself and that there is no state which enforces laws upon the people.

Rather than a system where rights are enforced by a higher authority, people are self-governed by mutual responsibilities.

On returning from South Africa, when Gandhi received a letter asking for his participation in writing a world charter for human rights, he responded saying, "in my experience, it is far more important to have a charter for human duties.” A free India for him meant the existence of thousands of self sufficient small communities who rule themselves without hindering others.
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Conclusion :-
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Yeah , independent, though we may be mentally, we are all dependent on others around us to survive. And hence there are rules and regulations, dictated for the *collective good*.
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An independent thought makes us different (may create impact on other !!). So comments are always WELCOME : - )