Politics allow a leader to balance competing interests, inadequate resources and other realities of organizational life. People who are good politicians provide answers and define priorities.
Effective politicians reduce negative behaviors by engaging in positive behaviors themselves.
Because the best politicians stay flexible enough to adapt quickly to new realities, they provide a useful model that encourages people within any organization to adapt and change.
—Adapted from “Political Skill: Leaders Need to Have It,” an interview with Gerald Ferris in Leading Effectively, available online from the Center for Creative at www.ccl.org.