The Office Politics Handbook by Jack Godwin - Book review

The Office Politics Handbook

Winning the Game of Power and Politics at Work

By: Jack Godwin, Ph.D.

Published: September 23, 2013
Format: Paperback, 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1601632797
ISBN-13: 978-1601632791
Publisher: Career Press









"This book is for people who dislike power games, but who also recognize that politics takes place wherever there are people: between supervisors and employees,teachers and students, parent and children, and among friends, partners, and spouses", writes political scientist Jack Goodwin, Ph.D., in his insightful and very practical book The Office Politics Handbook: Winning the Game of Power and Politics at Work. The author describes the nature of politics and their ubiquitous nature in all human activities, and provides his political insider experience for understanding power and politics as essential tools of leadership.

Jack Goodwin recognizes that many people dislike the very idea that office politics exists in organizations. Instead of utilizing the concept of politics, power and influence in terms of manipulation and force, the author presents political as necessary for authentic leadership. This approach to the principles and concepts of politics and influencing decisions and actions goes beyond the narrow seeking of power.

The skills are also critical for achieving the goals of departments and their staff, including ensuring that scarce resources are allocated appropriately for project completion. The author shares strategies for repelling attacks by other less ethical people, and understanding how to approach those challenges effectively as an authentic leader.

Jack Godwin, Ph.D. (photo left) understands that leaders must develop their political skills to lead effectively. Disregarding politics and seekers of power will not make them go away, and may even provide the less scrupulous with the opportunity to do harm to the organization for their personal gain. Through an inward journey of self awareness, to understand the individual's own personal nature through a series of archetypes, the road to authentic leadership can be developed effectively.

The political archetypes, shared by Jack Godwin, are as follows:

* The servant leader
* The rebel
* The mentor
* The recluse
* The judo master
* The resistor
* The opportunist
* The survivor

For me, the power of the book is how Jack Godwin combines a comprehensive frameword of the nature of the art of politics with the archetype concepts that provide practical insights into authentic leadership. The author presents politics as part of the overall human experience, and with the potential for influencing both good or bad decisions and actions. Jack Godwin prefers to take the positive approach of political savvy as a crucial and authentic leadership skill.

Jack Godwin encourages leaders to look within themselves, and to take a personal inner journey of self discovery and self awareness. The author provides an archetype based analysis of the political nature of the individual leader. The author also examines the role of the followers and their behavior and actions.

Leadership is based on the principle of consent. Instead of force, the author demonstrates how authentic leader achieves consent, even from those officially higher than the leader on the organizational chart. Indeed, the author considers force to be a vastly inferior method than influence, strategy, and shared consent.

I highly recommend the must read and success building book The Office Politics Handbook: Winning the Game of Power and Politics at Work by Jack Godwin, Ph.D., to any current and future leaders who are seeking a clear, concise and skills based approach to developing authentic leadership. This book offers an alternative to the less effective and often counterproductive force based models of leadership.