March 26, 2026
Nobel-Winning Economists Just Described the AI We're Building
Workplace politics isn't a dirty word — it's how work gets done. The worst move is pretending it doesn't exist. The best move is teaching people to navigate it well. Drawing on insights from Cie Nicholson and Katie Lacey of The Band of Sisters, this post explores four essential lessons: teach how decisions really get made (hint: pre-selling matters), build a network of allies beyond your boss, earn sponsors who advocate for you when you're not in the room, and lead with abundance instead of scarcity. When leaders make the informal system transparent, people spend less time decoding politics and more time delivering results. Smart politics is leadership in action.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ready to help your team navigate office politics more effectively? Start with these tips:
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.
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:
Learn how Tuffy helps employees transform a challenge into opportunity. Watch the demo
Listen to our podcast with The Band of Sisters members, Cie Nicholson and Katie Lacey.
The Band of Sisters is a group of six executive-level women who have seen it all, from the bottom rung to the boardroom. They advise companies on inclusive leadership and practical solutions that create cultures where everyone can thrive.
