A confident businesswoman in a tailored suit stands with arms crossed beside a chessboard, symbolising strategic thinking and political intelligence in professional settings.

I used to hate being politically smart.

As a young banker, I saw being politically smart as manipulation, game-playing and self-serving behaviour. I prided myself on being direct, focused and uninterested in backroom deals or power plays.

I thought that was integrity.

What I didn’t realise? Avoiding politics wasn’t noble – it was naive.

It cost me influence. It cost me relationships. And it no doubt cost me opportunities.

Because here’s the truth I had to learn the hard way:

Being politically smart isn’t about compromising your values. It’s about being effective within the reality you’re in.

Why “Office Politics” Feels So Unpleasant

We’ve all seen the worst of it:

  • People who climb the ladder by stepping on others.

  • Decisions made based on alliances, not merit.

  • Toxic workplaces where speaking the truth is career suicide.

It’s easy to look at all of this and think, “Nope. Not me. I want no part in that.”

And so, you opt out, focusing on doing good work, believing it will speak for itself.

But here’s the problem: That doesn’t stop the game from being played.

You’re still being assessed. People are still making decisions about you. Influence is still shaping outcomes, you’re just not part of it.

And when you opt out:

  • You lose opportunities.

  • You don’t get a say in the decisions that affect you.

  • You end up frustrated, watching less competent people get ahead.

Which is why the answer isn’t to disengage. It’s to engage better.

Playing the Game Differently

I learned this most profoundly- not in banking, but navigating the social care system to get support for my child with additional needs.

In theory, the system exists to help. In practice, it’s a tangled web of competing agendas, bureaucracy, and people who are often just trying to tick the right boxes rather than actually help you.

It would have been easy to dig in, to see the system as the enemy, to get combative, to demand what was fair.

But that wouldn’t have worked.

Instead, I had to approach it like a strategic partnership:

  • Get clear on my stake. What am I ultimately trying to achieve? What’s the one thing that matters most?

  • Understand their stake. What are their pressures, constraints, and incentives?

  • Work with – not against – the system. Instead of demanding, align my approach with what helps them help me.

  • Hold my boundaries without hostility. Stay firm, stay strategic, but don’t get sucked into the war.

And guess what? It works.

Not by playing dirty. Not by manipulating.

But by being politically smart, while staying in integrity.

How This Applies to You

If you feel like you’re constantly frustrated by the politics at work, or struggling with the same dynamics in your personal life, here’s what I want you to know:

  • You don’t have to sell your soul to be effective.

  • You don’t have to choose between influence and integrity.

  • You just have to stop pretending politics don’t exist.

This is exactly what War to Peace® helps you do.

  • Stop feeling drained by difficult people.

  • Hold your ground, without the emotional hangover.

  • Navigate power dynamics with clarity and ease.

  • Get what matters most, without compromising who you are.

Because you can’t change the system. But you can change how you show up in it.

And that’s where your real power lies.

Want to Navigate Office Politics Without Losing Yourself?

If you’re ready to handle workplace dynamics with ease, hold your ground without emotional fallout and be politically smart while staying in integrity, War to Peace® can help.

Join us for the next workshop and experience it for yourself.

Because you don’t have to choose between being effective and being yourself. You just have to know how to engage strategically, without the cost.