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I've given example of a management style that seem to be apolitical - mentorship. I don't see why a whole company can't be built with such style. Political prob

I've given example of a management style that seem to be apolitical - mentorship. I don't see why a whole company can't be built with such style. Political problems in that case would be implicitly handled by company culture. Another example could be a family run business, in which family relationships could dominate, rather than politics. I think there are maybe other examples. Can you give an example of unavoidable political problem that people manager unavoidably has to handle?

joshuamorton 7y ago
> Can you give an example of unavoidable political problem that people manager unavoidably has to handle? - Two of your reports want to work on the same project, perhaps because it will look good. There's only enough work for one of them - The team fails to meet an objective. This needs to be addressed, somehow > Political problems in that case would be implicitly handled by company culture Someone(s) still need to make the decisions that align with the culture. Those people are making political decisions, they just have values that help guide the decisions.
- dchichkov 7y ago
  I see. Well, when "reports are attempting to get projects because it would look good", that sounds like "manipulation for short-term personal gain". Not good. I agree, this is a political problem. But it doesn't seem to be unavoidable. Perhaps, increase rewards for long-term gains for the company and remove rewards for short-term personal gains? It just wouldn't happen then? Team failing to meet the objective. I don't see how this is a political problem.
  - joshuamorton 7y ago
    > But it doesn't seem to be unavoidable. You've just described a way of dealing with the issue when it arises: paying the person working on the less sexy project more. This may sometimes be a tool the manager can use, but it isn't always an option. So presume you don't have this tool, or the value of the project is larger than the value of the compensation you can provide. > It just wouldn't happen then? You're presuming that the company can perfectly reward people for work, and that every employee believes that they'll be rewarded optimally for work in the company's best interest. I've yet to encounter a company that can accurately reward employees for their performance, and because of that, I've yet to find a company where the employees believe that their performance will be perfectly fairly rated. If you can fix this problem, I'll buy your product.

joshuamorton 7y ago

> Can you give an example of unavoidable political problem that people manager unavoidably has to handle? - Two of your reports want to work on the same project, perhaps because it will look good. There's only enough work for one of them - The team fails to meet an objective. This needs to be addressed, somehow > Political problems in that case would be implicitly handled by company culture Someone(s) still need to make the decisions that align with the culture. Those people are making political decisions, they just have values that help guide the decisions.

dchichkov 7y ago
I see. Well, when "reports are attempting to get projects because it would look good", that sounds like "manipulation for short-term personal gain". Not good. I agree, this is a political problem. But it doesn't seem to be unavoidable. Perhaps, increase rewards for long-term gains for the company and remove rewards for short-term personal gains? It just wouldn't happen then? Team failing to meet the objective. I don't see how this is a political problem.
- joshuamorton 7y ago
  > But it doesn't seem to be unavoidable. You've just described a way of dealing with the issue when it arises: paying the person working on the less sexy project more. This may sometimes be a tool the manager can use, but it isn't always an option. So presume you don't have this tool, or the value of the project is larger than the value of the compensation you can provide. > It just wouldn't happen then? You're presuming that the company can perfectly reward people for work, and that every employee believes that they'll be rewarded optimally for work in the company's best interest. I've yet to encounter a company that can accurately reward employees for their performance, and because of that, I've yet to find a company where the employees believe that their performance will be perfectly fairly rated. If you can fix this problem, I'll buy your product.