Political savviness as a leadership tool

Back when he was still editing The American Scholar, Joseph Epstein used to remark that his responsibilities as editor involved little more than "opening the mail." What he meant was that the journal had acquired enough of a reputation that good writers regularly submitted solid and thoughtful pieces for publication with no prompting from his side. All he had to do—or so he claimed—was to open the mail, see what had come in this month, and then send it to the printer.

A blogger's job is rarely so easy, but I am always delighted when I find something I can share with you. This week it is a short video that I found posted on myASQ, ASQ's social media platform. Its title is "Political savviness as a leadership tool," and it was originally posted by Luigi Sille of ASQ's Human Development & Leadership Division. Mr. Sille and the HD&L Division retain all rights to this video, and I gratefully acknowledge their permission to share it here.

The central message of the video is a simple one: political skill is a fundamental leadership tool. It doesn't get the acclaim of talents like vision and strategy, but it is just as important. No matter how inspiring the vision or how brilliant the strategy, there will always be internal friction in any organization when you try to implement them—simply because there is always friction when people work together. Political skill is nothing more than the lubricant for that friction, the ability to work with others inside an organization in order to get things done. 

Many people hear the words "political skill" and think of something bad; they associate the concept with force or fraud, with coercion or manipulation. Of course sometimes those things do happen inside organizations, but they are dysfunctions and they are the exception. Most organizations get along fine without them. And associating political skill with those kinds of behaviors is like associating weather with hurricanes and tornadoes: sure, they are dramatic, but they aren't the whole story.

It's a good video, and it will cost you only a minute. I hope you enjoy it.