Action: "Seek out the most competent people in your organization, not necessarily those with the most charisma." Peter F. Drucker
Unfortunately there is this saying which many people misunderstand: "It's not what you know, it's who you know". Which leads to, in my opinion, far to much emphasis on the political side of network development early on in many young people's careers.
If I had a $ for every time one of my new young colleagues would ask me whom they should meet and how they should plan their careers, I'd be a wealthy man. Man answer always seemed to disappoint, especially those who were good at the networking game, the charismatic ones. I always told them, do the absolute best at the task you are giving, blow everyone away with the quality of your work and the results, and your collaborativeness. I promised that the rest would present itself, and a real network would develop around their capabilities, a very sound foundation to build a career. Was I wrong? I have always placed more importance on people thinking of me as highly competent, maybe com-passionate, but not as a 'political' guy. Truth be known, several clients did not want me to be a political guy... they had enough of those inside the organization.
Certainly there always seems to be a spot held at the table for the charismatic politician, and yes, it always pays to be collaborative within one's network, but the patina of the charismatic soon wears off when the shit hits the fan. In texas they have a saying: "Grosser Hut, keine Kuehe". ( A lot of Texans came from Germany).
Are there too many "politicians" in your organization?
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