There’s a concept I first learned from Wes Kao that changed how I think about workplace politics. It’s called “spiky points of view” (POVs). A spiky point of view is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a perspective that has some edge to it. It’s a belief you feel strongly about and are willing to advocate for, even when others might disagree.
Right now, especially in today’s volatile workplace, we could use a lot more spiky points of view. So in that spirit, here are my four “spiky” points of view on workplace politics: the hard truths about how influence really works in the corporate world.
Spiky POV #1: Claiming you’re “above” workplace politics isn’t noble, it’s naive
The word “politics” makes a lot of us cringe. We think of manipulation, backstabbing, and stepping over everyone to get ahead. If you consider yourself someone of high integrity, your instinct is often to say, “I want no part of that.”
It feels principled. But here’s what you need to realize:
Politics will happen whether you choose to participate or not.
Anytime you have humans working together in a system with limited resources and competing priorities, you have politics. This goes for your business unit, your team, even your family or friend group.
Your brain is constantly making snap judgments about who to trust, who has power, and who’s safe to disagree with. These aren’t conscious calculations. They’re happening automatically. When you walk into a meeting, within milliseconds your brain is running rapid-fire assessments: Who’s the alpha here? Who’s an ally? Who might challenge me?
This is why “opting out” doesn’t work. You can’t opt out of having a human brain. You can only choose whether to understand what it’s telling you and respond thoughtfully, or pretend these dynamics don’t exist while they shape every interaction around you.
When you say, “I’m above all those games,” what you’re really saying is, “I’m going to pretend these invisible influence networks don’t exist.” But they’re operating whether you acknowledge them or not.
Spiky POV #2: You can be respected for your ethics AND your edge
Politics themselves are completely neutral. They’re just the mechanics of how decisions get made when humans work together. It’s influence, persuasion, and coalition-building. The moral weight comes from HOW you use these tools and WHAT you’re trying to achieve.
It’s like money. You can use your wealth to fund a scholarship or to illegally bribe someone. The money itself isn’t good or bad; it’s a neutral tool. Political skills work the same way.
Destructive politics look like spreading rumors, taking credit for others’ work, withholding information, and creating unnecessary conflict.
Productive politics look like building relationships before you need them, understanding what motivates different stakeholders, creating advocates for your ideas, timing when you raise concerns, and knowing how to package your expertise in ways that make leaders feel smart for listening to you.
When you research your audience before a big presentation, when you schedule a difficult conversation for when your boss is in a good mood, when you invite the skeptic to coffee to understand their concerns before the team meeting, all of that is playing politics. But is it underhanded? Not at all.
The cruel irony is that by trying to stay “above” politics, you often end up enabling the exact behaviors you despise.
The people who are manipulative and self-serving? They love it when ethical, competent people remove themselves from the influence game. Your passivity is a choice that has consequences. Your good intentions don’t matter if you can’t get them implemented. Your brilliant ideas don’t help anyone if they die in meetings.
Spiky POV #3: You have to play the game to change the game
When you learn the rules of workplace politics, you can then use your influence to make things better. You can:
- Hire the diverse candidates who keep getting overlooked
- Push through safety improvements that have been ignored
- Protect your team from layoffs because you know how to position them as indispensable
- Get resources for projects that actually matter
- Change policies that are harming people
- Champion the quiet performers who do great work but don’t self-promote
Without influence, you’re just someone with good intentions and no power to act on them. When you refuse to develop political skills, you’re not just limiting yourself. You’re limiting everyone who could benefit from having someone like you in a position of power.
The people who need advocates the most (those who don’t come from privileged backgrounds, who don’t have built-in networks) are counting on ethical people to gain influence and use it wisely.
So yes, learn the game. Get good at it. Then use your seat at the table to make sure other people get chairs too.
Spiky POV #4: Your emotional intelligence gives you an advantage
Maybe you tell yourself you’re “too sensitive” for office politics. You absorb everyone’s stress. You pick up on tension in meetings that others seem oblivious to. You lie awake replaying conversations, wondering if you said the wrong thing.
You think this makes you weak and unsuited for influence. You’ve got it completely backwards.
While others are bulldozing through conversations, missing crucial social cues, and wondering why their great ideas keep getting shot down, you’re reading the room like a master.
You can sense when someone’s really saying “no” even when their words say “maybe.” You notice when the quiet person in the corner has something important to add. You pick up on the underlying tensions that are actually driving the conflict.
This isn’t a liability. This is emotional intelligence. And it’s exactly what effective influence requires.
Consider how your sensitivity becomes your strategic advantage:
- You sense resistance before it becomes opposition
- You understand what people need to feel comfortable saying yes
- You read the real dynamics in the room
- You recognize when timing is off
- You use empathy to find win-win solutions that others miss
The bottom line
You may not agree with me on all of these points. That’s okay. I get that these are things you may not want to hear. But I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t say them.
Deep down, you know that continuing to stay in your head, waiting to be “ready,” overthinking your every word, or hoping someone finally sees your potential isn’t going to cut it. Not at your level. Not in this market.
The world doesn’t need more ethical people sitting on the sidelines feeling pure. It needs ethical people in positions of influence, making decisions, and shaping outcomes.
Hear more about this topic on the podcast → Spiky POVs on Workplace Politics
