Navigating Politics: How Smart Leaders Turn Unwritten Rules Into Real Results

‍

Workplace politics isn’t a dirty word — it’s how organizations actually function and how work gets done. Yet many leaders treat it like a shadowy side game, something to avoid rather than understand. The worst move is pretending politics doesn’t exist. The best move is coaching people to navigate it well.

This post draws on a recent Tough Day podcast where we sat down with Cie Nicholson and Katie Lacey from The Band of Sisters to discuss navigating workplace politics and decoding unwritten rules, among many other topics. 

“Do not expect good work to speak for itself. Make sure your stuff is known by other people.”
_{— Cie Nicholson}

The Meeting That Revealed the Unwritten Rules

Nicholson and Lacey shared an experience that happened to a colleague that revealed one way that workplace politics play out. A company had asked managers to propose initiatives for incremental funding.  When their colleague presented her ideas she was grilled with challenging questions that she had to explain and defend on the spot. In the same meeting, when other managers presented their ideas, their proposals sailed through with minimal scrutiny and seemed to be rubber-stamped for funding. Later their colleague learned why. The other managers had pre-sold their ideas in advance. They had side conversations, surfaced concerns early, and addressed objections before the formal meeting. They basically got approval even before the meeting even started.

This colleague wasn't less capable and her ideas were likely just as strong. She was however, less informed on how to build influence and how the decision-making system worked. And that experience revealed four lessons every leader needs to teach their teams.

Lesson 1: Teach how decisions are made

Good managers explain and decode the path to yes for their team members. They explain how proposals are vetted, who has influence in which decisions, and what good preparation looks like. They encourage teams to preview ideas with key stakeholders, surface risks early, and address concerns before they get in the room. 

"There is the official route," Lacey explained, "and then there is the unofficial one– the side conversations, the informal alignment, the pre-wiring." When leaders make these mechanics transparent, performance improves and politics feels fair instead of murky.

Lesson 2: Build an ally network 

Nicholson and Lacey agreed that a common early-career misstep is focusing on efficiency and ignoring relationships. Nicholson admitted that early in her career she used the minutes before a meeting to fire off a few quick emails, but soon realized that this was prime time for catching up and building more intimacy with colleagues. Those informal moments create the trust and connections that pay dividends down the road—making future collaboration smoother, opening doors to opportunities, and providing support when challenges arise.

Healthy cultures don't pretend that networking is optional. They help people see its value and actively build networks of support. No one succeeds alone. Encourage people to build informal relationships beyond their direct manager and team so guidance, sponsorship, and career development aren't bottlenecked through a single relationship.

Lesson 3: Build sponsors

Allies help you read context and vouch for your contributions. Sponsors go further—they advocate for you when you're not in the room, championing your work for promotions, high-stakes projects, and leadership opportunities.

Nicholson's advice is clear and practical: "Do not expect good work to speak for itself. Make sure your stuff is known by other people." Share your wins and progress with key stakeholders through brief updates that highlight outcomes and impact. Seek out high-visibility projects where your work will be seen by decision-makers. Build relationships with senior leaders by consistently delivering results and contributing to strategic initiatives. Sponsorship is earned through visibility, trust, and proven performance over time.

Lesson 4: Lead with abundance, not scarcity

Nicholson offered a mindset shift that changes everything. If you assume work is zero-sum, you hoard information and guard territory. If you assume the pie can grow, you share context, coach peers, and build broad trust. Lacey added that cross-functional environments reward leaders who can mobilize without formal authority. That is the modern reality.

An abundance approach does not mean naiveté. As Lacey noted, you can be open and collaborative while staying situationally aware. Share enough to move the mission forward, but do not reveal every card to someone who repeatedly exploits it. Strategic generosity beats blind disclosure.

‍

What this looks like in practice 

Ready to help your team navigate office politics more effectively? Start with these tips:

1. Normalize the conversation. Name workplace politics openly as part of organizational life. Use real examples like the pre-selling story to show how decisions actually happen.
2. Make the rules clear. Explain decision flows, key stakeholders that need to be onboard to move a project forward, and what good preparation looks like.
3. Encourage connection. Reward relationship-building and cross-functional curiosity, not just task output. Model this by being present in meetings and taking time to connect with people.
4. Create sponsor pathways. Help rising talent identify sponsors and be one yourself. Give them stretch projects and visibility in important meetings, and advocate for them when they’re not in the room.
5. Make transparency the default. Share information freely, give credit fairly, and help others succeed.
   

Healthy politics is leadership in action. When the informal system is brought into daylight, people spend less time decoding and more time delivering. Nicholson put it simply: be aware, be strategic, and stay authentic. That is how leaders and employees turn organizational dynamics into real results.

‍

Tuffy™ for Navigating Politics: 

Human-positive AI like Tough Day’s AI Workplace Advisor, Tuffy, provides actionable tools to help managers, teams, and individuals handle workplace politics with confidence and integrity:

• Decode situations in real-time: "I just got this reaction in a meeting — what unwritten rule did I miss?"
• Practice pre-selling conversations: Role-play how to socialize an idea with a key stakeholder before the formal meeting. Tuffy can help craft concise talking points or anticipate potential objections to navigate decisions efficiently.
• Identify who to talk to: "Who should I loop in before presenting this to leadership?"
• Craft updates that build visibility: Help people write progress updates that highlight contributions without over-claiming.
• Navigate tricky dynamics: Get advice on how to handle someone who's hoarding information or not playing collaboratively.

Learn how Tuffy helps employees transform a challenge into opportunity. Watch the demo

‍

Want to dive deeper into office politics? 

‍Listen to our podcast with The Band of Sisters members, Cie Nicholson and Katie Lacey.